hands up

1. A direction or order to hold one's hands high, as in Hands up or I'll shoot! This imperative is used by police officers and criminals so that they can see if someone is holding a weapon. [Second half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

“My mom has always been somebody who’s had her two hands up with the world, but she is a mother of five as well,” Buckley says.

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When officers approached Hodgson, they yelled, “Get on the ground” and “Put your hands up.”

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Hodgson put his hands up but would not get on the ground.

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I instinctually throw my dream hands up to protect myself—only for the shard to impale me right in the center of my palm.

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Autumn and Woo both throw their hands up in a terrified wave.

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