handstand

American  

[hand-stand] / ˈhændˌstænd /

noun

• handstands
  plural

1. an act or instance of supporting the body in a vertical position by balancing on the palms of the hands.

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verb (used without object)

handstood, handstanding

1. to perform a handstand.

handstand British  

/ ˈhændˌstænd /

noun

1. the act or instance of supporting the body on the hands alone in an upside down position

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• handstands
  plural

Etymology

Origin of handstand

First recorded in 1895–1900; hand + stand

Explanation

When a gymnast supports her body's weight on her hands, with her legs straight up in the air, she does a handstand. It takes a great sense of balance to hold a handstand very long. You'll learn how to do a handstand in a gymnastics class, eventually even doing handstands on a balance beam or vault horse. Some yoga instructors teach handstands, and acrobatic circus performers do many varieties of the handstand. There are even dives that require a diver to start from a handstand on the diving board before plunging into the pool.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

handstand handstands handstanding

At the O2, that pain seemed a distant memory, as he careened around the U-shaped stage on roller skates, pulling off a flawless moonwalk, and even freeze-framing in a handstand.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2025

"The males will do a handstand and urinate. It's a way of competing with other males."

From National Geographic ● Sep. 21, 2023

Hop up toward a handstand, as long as you don’t mind if your floor moves, too.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 24, 2023

More than 30 years ago, Victoria Jackson performed a handstand on “Saturday Night Live” to praise the “freedom to express myself any way I like” in America.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2023

Cotton broke her arm trying to prove she could do a handstand on the bathroom sink at Bamaby Elementary but she slipped.

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds

It broke the record for consecutive, double-dutch-style handstand-skipping with two people, which involves skipping while performing handstands as ropes are turned in opposite directions.

From Reuters ● Nov. 16, 2023

Similarly, so many of the people I saw hitting their handstands in yoga classes were people who had done this for decades.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2023

Between sky-high release skills, perfectly vertical handstands and a stuck dismount, Frazier has many high-scoring elements in her bar routine that the 2021 Pac-12 bars champion needed to fine-tune before the season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2023

The character he plays can’t do handstands or hula hoop or train dogs with any dexterity.

From New York Times ● Nov. 25, 2022

They’re doing somersaults and cartwheels and handstands and everything now!

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Then, kicking away the piano bench, he goes into an old-fashioned rock-'n'-roll finale and plays standing up, kneeling down, even handstanding on the keyboard with feet high in air.

From Time Magazine Archive