handcuff

[ hand-kuhf ]

/ ˈhændˌkʌf /

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See synonyms for: handcuff / handcuffs 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.

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Origin of handcuff

First recorded in 1635–45; hand + cuff¹

OTHER WORDS FROM handcuff

un·hand·cuff, verb (used with object)

Words nearby handcuff

handclap, handclasp, handcraft, handcrafted, handcraftman, handcuff, handcycle, H and D curve, hand-deliver, hand down, hand drill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use handcuff in a sentence

As two officers then try and put the girl—who is now in handcuffs—in the car, she repeatedly screams, “I want my Dad.”
Police Investigation Underway After 9-Year-Old Girl Pepper Sprayed During Arrest in Rochester, New York|Josiah Bates|February 2, 2021|Time
Others wore tactical gear or brought zip ties, which can be used as handcuffs, officials said.
Rioters wanted to ‘capture and assassinate’ lawmakers, prosecutors say. A note left by the ‘QAnon Shaman’ is evidence.|Teo Armus|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
He wore a Taser holstered to his hip and gripped a bunch of zip-tie handcuffs in one hand.
Trumpist masculinity reaches its high water mark|Monica Hesse|January 12, 2021|Washington Post
After deputies removed Boney in handcuffs, the judge withdrew the contempt charge but said the publisher still had to be escorted from the building.
A North Carolina judge is blocking journalists from his courtroom. One objected — and got handcuffed.|Elahe Izadi, Mark Berman|December 11, 2020|Washington Post

Member Margaret Lorber said she simply cannot accept the idea of guns and handcuffs in schools.
Alexandria City Public Schools approves revisions to contract with police|Hannah Natanson|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
And keep your eyes on me; if I act in the least peculiar, handcuff me—but don't knock me out.
The Penal Cluster|Ivar Jorgensen (AKA Randall Garrett)
Bill said that he thought that bruin was about to make up his mind to let us take off that handcuff.
Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper|Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock
He unwound the rope which he had brought along and secured one circle of a double handcuff to his left wrist.
The Incendiary|W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
A white mark, which slowly changed to red, showed where Delaney had clamped the handcuff down to its last notch.
Whispering Wires|Henry Leverage
"Why, he threatened to handcuff me and take me to jail if I didn't tell him all about Mr. Whitmore's death," complained Collins.
The Substitute Prisoner|Max Marcin

British Dictionary definitions for handcuff

handcuff

/ (ˈhændˌkʌf) /

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

handcuff

Origin of handcuff

OTHER WORDS FROM handcuff

Words nearby handcuff

Words related to handcuff

How to use handcuff in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for handcuff