manhandle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to handle roughly.
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to move by human strength, without the use of mechanical appliances.
verb
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to handle or push (someone) about roughly
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to move or do by manpower rather than by machinery
Etymology
Origin of manhandle
Explanation
When you manhandle something, you pick it up, push it, or pull it roughly. You might gasp watching movers manhandle your fragile furniture as they load it into a moving van. You can manhandle things, and you can also manhandle people, shoving or grabbing them. If security workers at the airport manhandle a little old lady, nearby passengers will probably speak up in her defense. This current meaning arose in the late nineteenth century — earlier, manhandle meant "attack an enemy," and before that, "wield a tool."
Vocabulary lists containing manhandle
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.
A flower seller, asked about the tourist trade, irritably mimed how some outsiders would manhandle his delicate blooms — brilliant purple irises and Van Gogh-worthy sunflowers — and then walk away without buying anything.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2024
The Huskies needed their wide receivers to manhandle Michigan’s defensive backs, and running back Dillon Johnson to deliver despite an array of injuries.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 8, 2024
Are they why he explodes out of his stance to manhandle defenders in the run game?
From Washington Post • Apr. 13, 2023
It was now left to Ian to manhandle the larger section of the stone into the boot of the car.
From BBC • Oct. 5, 2022
Kermit’s boots had been rotting off his feet from all the time he spent wading in the river trying to manhandle the canoes.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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.
