handsy
Americanadjective
-
tending to touch people with the hands, especially in an inappropriate or sexual way.
She saw that he was getting handsy with some of the female guests.
-
(in golf, baseball, etc.) characterized by excessive hand and wrist movement.
a handsy swing.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of handsy
First recorded in 1960–65; either hands ( def. ) + -y 1 ( def. ), or hand ( def. ) + -sy ( def. )
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.
It’s fraught enough to try such a handsy, dangerous, co-dependent activity with a friend or sibling.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026
In September, Boebert was tossed out of a Denver showing of the musical “Beetlejuice” after vaping, carrying on and getting handsy with her date.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2024
Well, the latter is not "alleged" at all, as Boebert getting handsy with her date before getting kicked out of the play was caught on a widely spread security tape.
From Salon • Sep. 21, 2023
There are smaller characters crystallized in a flash: Lazar’s Duncan dainty and handsy, Maria Dizzia’s Lady Macduff heartbreakingly resolute.
From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2022
That heat took the form of 125-mph serves that were as dangerous from their placement as their power and handsy groundstrokes that were deceptively deep and varied.
From Washington Post • Sep. 12, 2021
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
