handiwork
Americannoun
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work done by hand.
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the characteristic quality of a particular doer or maker.
In all of Mozart's music we discover the handiwork of a genius.
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the result of work done by hand.
woven mats and other handiwork.
noun
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work performed or produced by hand, such as embroidery or pottery
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the result of the action or endeavours of a person or thing
Etymology
Origin of handiwork
before 1000; Middle English handiwerk, Old English handgeweorc, variant of handweorc (cognate with German Handwerk ). See hand, y-, work
Explanation
Handiwork is something that you've done, achieved, or made, especially with your own two hands. When you hold up a pair of mittens you just finished knitting, you're admiring your handiwork. You can use the noun handiwork for the result of hard work, like a tidy, weeded and mulched garden or a handmade birdhouse. You can also look at something less positive, like a messy living room scattered with books that have been pulled from the shelves, and say to your two year-old cousin, "Is this your handiwork?" This word comes from the Old English handgeweorc, from hand and geweorc, "work."
Vocabulary lists containing handiwork
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.
Wainwright has previously displayed his handiwork at events for charity, and discovered that blind people have loved to feel the large items next to the normal sized ones.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
The list is the handiwork of his daughter, Kazuko, who also contributes several lovely concluding pieces.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
The task took her two months but the result was worth it when she saw the head of state step out onto the presidential balcony in her handiwork.
From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026
It suddenly started to rain, so Garcia Venegas quickly grabbed some plastic to cover his handiwork, but he never got the chance to use it.
From Slate • Oct. 2, 2025
I added a three-toed lion's paw, a heart, and a star, trying to mimic her handiwork, and added, I can do it with my pen.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
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.
