hands-on
Americanadjective
-
characterized by or involved in active personal participation in an activity; individual and direct.
a workshop to give children hands-on experience with computers.
-
requiring manual operation, control, adjustment, or the like; not automatic or computerized.
the old hands-on telephone switchboards.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of hands-on
First recorded in 1905–10; by analogy with hands-off
Explanation
Something that's hands-on requires direct interaction or participation. If you have hands-on coffee shop experience, it means you've actually made lattes and served scones with your own two hands. When you take a hands-on sewing class, you'll actually cut and pin and sew fabric, and if a high school principal has a hands-on role, she might teach a class each semester. If it's a hands-on chemistry class, students will have the opportunity to mix chemicals and do experiments. Hands-on is a relatively new adjective, coined around 1969.
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.
A few weeks before release, AFP got hands-on with the game at the Japanese giant's European headquarters in Frankfurt, alongside other journalists and content creators.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Visitors will be able to explore more than 100 artifacts and 100 hands-on exhibits focused on science, technology and engineering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
“Yes, you can hire help, but that’s not the same” as having a hands-on grandparent being willing and physically able to pitch in with caring for small children.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
The port city has essentially declared war on its empty shop problem, taking an unusually hands-on approach to filling vacant units and bringing long-neglected upper floors of buildings into use.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
But at the end of his scientific articles, there was always a plaintive sentence about how much more hands-on, real-world research needed to be done before the decision tree could be used in clinical practice.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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