longhand

American  

[lawng-hand, long-] / ˈlɔŋˌhænd, ˈlɒŋ- /

noun

1. writing of the ordinary kind, in which words are written out in full (distinguished from shorthand).

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adjective

1. using longhand.

   longhand writing.

2. written in longhand.

   a longhand account of the meeting.

longhand British  

/ ˈlɒŋˌhænd /

noun

1. ordinary handwriting, in which letters, words, etc, are set down in full, as opposed to shorthand or to typing

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Etymology

Origin of longhand

First recorded in 1660–70; long ¹ + hand

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

longhand

The high-school dropout read urban crime fiction, then wrote his own stories longhand in notebooks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

"I scribble and sketch, but shift quickly to the computer. I thought I'd write the whole manuscript longhand - by the third paragraph I gave up."

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025

Selleck spent four years writing the book longhand on yellow legal pads, quoting from George Will and Raymond Chandler along the way.

From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024

And while other companies began to digitize operations, Samyang’s employees did their books in longhand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

I’d done it the first time, grudgingly, not telling him how much I hated typing, how I did all but the final drafts of my stories in longhand.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler

Related Words

• calligraphy
• manuscript
• scrawl
• script
• writing