In close combat; also, at close quarters. For example, If the enemy came any closer they would soon be fighting hand to hand . This expression, dating from about 1400, is usually restricted to military contexts but occasionally sees more general use.
In close combat; also, at close quarters. For example, If the enemy came any closer they would soon be fighting hand to hand . This expression, dating from about 1400, is usually restricted to military contexts but occasionally sees more general use.
from hand to hand . From one person to another; through a succession of persons. For example, The instructions were passed from hand to hand until everyone had seen them , or Over the generations the family albums went from hand to hand . [Mid-1500s]
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Radio Free Europe transmitted programs; samizdat passed typed manuscripts hand to hand.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
A container passed hand to hand with a quick smile and a promise to return it someday.
From Salon • Jan. 27, 2026
Carried hand to hand from one person to another, poured from vessel to vessel, the ingredients’ essence is maintained and protected, avoiding the contamination and abstraction of the super-processed supermarket product.
From Slate • Mar. 15, 2025
Ukrainians say they’ve heard from Russian soldiers already on the battlefield who learned of the hotline by word-of-mouth or from a scrawled-on slip of paper passed from hand to hand.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2023
And with each sip, he remembered his family passing the bottles from hand to hand, laughing at the tickly bubbles, sharing and laughing together....
From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
