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handsaw

American  
[hand-saw] / ˈhændˌsɔ /

noun

  • handsaws
    plural
  1. any common saw with a handle at one end for manual operation with one hand.


handsaw British  
/ ˈhændˌsɔː /

noun

  1. 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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

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.

See Examples For:

Keep a box with these essential basics: a tape measure, claw hammer, utility knife, level, crescent wrenches, hex keys, a handsaw, pliers, multiple screwdrivers and a collection of screws and nails.

From Seattle Times May 29, 2023

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

From Washington Post Aug. 22, 2021

Wielding a folding handsaw, 75-year-old Bob Smith clambered through tangled undergrowth to prune trees bearing bright red beans.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 17, 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

Then he wanted to know did I throw away a handsaw.

From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor

Old handsaws and other tools make for great background elements.

From Seattle Times Feb. 10, 2022

His aggressive and beautiful paintings feature heads and bodies spinning in and floating among lamps and houses, plants and handsaws.

From New York Times Jul. 16, 2020

A large rack of handsaws hung on one wall.

From Washington Post Aug. 17, 2018

That means using handsaws to clear deadfall from trails, block-and-tackle pulley rigs to lift bridge timbers and spud bars to pry rocks out of trail treads.

From Washington Times Aug. 19, 2017

The street resonated with the wheeze of handsaws.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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