handout

[hand-out]

noun

1. a portion of food or the like given to a needy person, as a beggar.

2. press release.

3. any printed, typed, mimeographed, or photocopied copy of information, as a speech, policy statement, or fact sheet given to reporters, attendees at a meeting, or the like.

4. anything given away for nothing, as a free sample of a product by an advertiser.

Word History and Origins

Origin of handout¹

First recorded in 1880–85 handout for def. 1 and in 1905–10 handout for def. 2; noun use of verb phrase hand out

Example Sentences

To keep ObamaCare afloat, the federal government has propped it up with hundreds of billions of dollars in handouts directly to the insurance industry while failing to lower costs.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Republicans and conservatives have misrepresented the pandemic-era change as a handout to millionaires.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It cites the establishment of relief camps and food aid as well as cash handouts.

Read more on BBC

Suarez invited the women to speak in response to a series of questions printed on a handout.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Not a photocopied handout in English tucked into an envelope behind a paycheck, not a rushed talk in Spanish at the field’s edge, but a verified safety course — certified by labor contractors and farmers alike.

Read more on Los Angeles Times