handcuff
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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handcuffs,
present (3rd person singular)
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handcuffed,
past participle, past
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handcuffing
present participle
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to put handcuffs on.
-
to restrain or thwart (someone) by or as if by handcuffing.
The amendments handcuffed the committee and prevented further action.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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handcuffsimple
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handcuffssimple
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have handcuffedperfect
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has handcuffedperfect
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am handcuffingprogressive
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are handcuffingprogressive
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is handcuffingprogressive
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have been handcuffingperfect progressive
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has been handcuffingperfect progressive
Past
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handcuffedsimple
-
had handcuffedperfect
-
was handcuffingprogressive
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were handcuffingprogressive
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had been handcuffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of handcuff
Explanation
A handcuff is a metal restraint that closes around a person's wrist. When police arrest a suspect, they often put handcuffs on him. You'll almost always find this word in its plural form, since handcuffs come in pairs, one for each wrist. It's also a verb, meaning "to put handcuffs on a person." Police officers carry handcuffs with them, so that they're ready to handcuff criminals and troublemakers. Handcuffs hold the wrists close to each other, usually behind the wearer's back. The earliest meaning of handcuff was "decorative sleeve," in the 1640s.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Having retirement dollars mainly in traditional savings plans can handcuff older workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
“This is a family town,” the arresting officer tells jeering onlookers as he and the two others handcuff Gamble.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
While he was in hospital he was under 24-hour guard by prison officers but it was not deemed necessary to handcuff him.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
But in a statement released two days after the incident, the department said the officer was attempting to handcuff the teen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2026
She rubbed the handcuff bracelets still encircling her wrists.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Videos circulating on social media on Sunday appeared to show Carse in handcuffs, being led away from a club by four police officers.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Video taken after Jando’s arrest shows him being escorted in handcuffs by a squad of Mexican commandos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
On the first day of the hearing, which is scheduled to last all week, Robinson appeared in court in handcuffs, wearing a gray suit and a dark tie.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Professional investment advisers wear handcuffs when they manage clients’ money — but you don’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Frank stuffed the handcuffs in his backpack, and they kept walking.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
His feet were shackled and he held his hands behind his back, although US marshals had not handcuffed him.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Javier Ramirez was handcuffed in the back of an unmarked car, bruised and confused, when immigration agents used a word he had never heard before.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
They were handcuffed again and taken to the Whipple Federal Building.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
He imagines himself as a migrant: “I lived outside of Dallas / Rundown shack of a place / I was handcuffed and arrested / It don’t make no sense.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
They wrapped it tight with a big roll of gauze and handcuffed him.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
Videos on social media showed federal authorities in Charlotte handcuffing people and leading them into cars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 16, 2025
Police can be seen handcuffing demonstrators in another video.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2025
One suspect he was handcuffing turned to him and asked, “What’s George C. Scott really like?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025
I suspect that we will soon see the Incredible Hulk handcuffing someone.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2025
The suggestion was firmly rejected, a sergeant informing Mr. Muckle that handcuffing a bunch of middle- school kids wouldn’t be good for the public safety department’s image.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
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.
