handcuff

[hand-kuhf]

noun

1. 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)

1. to put handcuffs on.

2. to restrain or thwart (someone) by or as if by handcuffing.

   The amendments handcuffed the committee and prevented further action.

handcuff

/ ˈhændˌkʌf /

verb

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

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• unhandcuff verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of handcuff¹

First recorded in 1635–45; hand + cuff ¹

Example Sentences

Jessie Fuentes, a Chicago alderperson, reported being shoved twice and subsequently handcuffed by ICE agents after asking whether they had a warrant to be inside a Chicago hospital.

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It ended with the handcuffed man badly injured — but alive.

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He documented MTA police in New York placing him in handcuffs for alleged disorderly conduct.

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California Sen. Alex Padilla is among the highest-ranking Latinos in U.S. politics today, but it took a pair of handcuffs to make him famous.

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Over the weekend, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order requiring immigration officials to remove the guards watching over Bayron Rovidio Marin, take off the handcuffs and leave him unrestrained.

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Related Words

• bind 
• frustrate 
• hamper 
• hamstring