handcuff

[hand-kuhf]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR handcuff ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a ring-shaped metal device that can be locked around a person's wrist, usually one of a pair connected by a short chain or linked bar; shackle: The police put handcuffs on the suspect.

verb (used with object)

to put handcuffs on.

to restrain or thwart (someone) by or as if by handcuffing: The amendments handcuffed the committee and prevented further action.

Origin of handcuff

First recorded in 1635–45; hand + cuff¹

Related formsun·hand·cuff, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for handcuff

shackle, hamstring, bind, frustrate, fetter, chain, nexus, binding, hobble, wire, network, manacle, ligature, tie-in, tie, cord, restraint, band, link

Examples from the Web for handcuff

Contemporary Examples of handcuff

Tihen had insisted he was in her lap as she struggled to handcuff him.
From Ferguson Cop Embroiled in a Brutality Suit to City Councilwoman
Michael Daly
August 20, 2014
But she surprised these cops just as she had the officers back in December, when she managed to wiggle free of a handcuff.
In Months Before Wild Capitol Scene, Miriam Carey Battled Psychosis
Michael Daly
October 5, 2013
There are psychological chains and restraints that are so much stronger than any steel chain or handcuff.
For the Cleveland Kidnapping Victims, a Tragic Sisterhood
Christine Pelisek
May 10, 2013
Police say that Thomas resisted arrested, so they had to handcuff her and forced her to the ground.
In Los Angeles, Questions of Police Brutality Dog LAPD
Christine Pelisek
November 24, 2012
Court documents say she was nude with a handcuff still attached to her wrist.
He Wanted to Kill 50 Women
Barbie Latza Nadeau
August 18, 2010

Historical Examples of handcuff

I do not object in the least to the handcuffs; and, if you are dying to handcuff somebody, handcuff me.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
Clarkson, stop playing with that tape and handcuff the prisoner.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, July 22, 1914
Various
This bar was two feet in length, and at each end of it was a handcuff.
The Life and Adventures of Baron Trenck
Baron Trenck
We might handcuff them all without the slightest difficulty.
Will Weatherhelm
W.H.G. Kingston
The men shook hands and Clark looked curiously at Don's handcuff.
And Then the Town Took Off
Richard Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for handcuff

handcuff

verb

(tr) to put handcuffs on (a person); manacle

noun

(plural) a pair of locking metal rings joined by a short bar or chain for securing prisoners, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for handcuff

1640s as a decorative addition to a sleeve; 1690s as a type of restraining device, from hand (n.) + cuff (n.). Old English had hondcops "a pair of hand cuffs," but the modern word is a re-invention. The verb is first attested 1720. Related: Handcuffed; handcuffing.