handshaking

American  

[hand-shey-king] / ˈhændˌʃeɪ kɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or practice of shaking hands.

   Handshaking was discouraged during the pandemic to avoid transmission of the virus.

   The traveler was sent off with many handshakings and words of advice.

2. handshake.

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handshaking British  

/ ˈhændˌʃeɪkɪŋ /

noun

1. computing communication between a computer system and an external device, by which each tells the other that data is ready to be transferred, and that the receiver is ready to accept it

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Etymology

Origin of handshaking

First recorded in 1970–75; handshake ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Some historians have suggested that the rise of handshaking replaced hat-doffing, but Capp disagrees.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2026

To disguise the swelling caused by hours of handshaking, Volk suggested Lincoln grasp a sawed-off broomstick.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in July that Trump had been diagnosed with CVI, and that his bruises were the result of “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.”

From Salon • Sep. 3, 2025

Second, though some commentators have presented the proposal as if all the blanks were filled and all that’s left is the handshaking ceremony, Biden himself said nothing of the sort.

From Slate • Jun. 4, 2024

The informal touches; the handshaking; the folk music; the insistence upon union—all these changes are aimed at serving Catholics who no longer live in a Catholic world.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez