handsaw

American

[hand-saw] / ˈhændˌsɔ /

noun

any common saw with a handle at one end for manual operation with one hand.

handsaw British

/ ˈhændˌsɔː /

noun

any saw for use in one hand only

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of handsaw

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at hand, saw ¹

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.

Here, when things get tricky, Millie and Tim reach for an electric handsaw.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 29, 2025

Adams uses a handsaw or occasionally a hatchet; volunteers aren’t allowed to use power tools or poisons.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 2, 2022

A simple handsaw, such as a hacksaw or coping saw, should work fine.

From Washington Post • Aug. 22, 2021

You know, one of the images I found, actually, in early South Carolina was a white guy and a black guy working on opposite ends of the same handsaw, you know.

From Slate • May 18, 2015

In one of his coffee-brown hands was an ordinary handsaw, the kind used for cutting wood.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023