handyman
Americannoun
noun
-
a man employed to do various tasks
-
a man skilled in odd jobs, etc
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of handyman
Explanation
Someone who's good at many things, especially fixing things around the house, can be called a handyman. If you need help unclogging a drain and repairing a hole in a window screen, you should call a handyman. A handyman knows how to do minor repairs and odd jobs, and either tackles these on weekends in his own home or advertises his skills and is employed by other people. These days, it's not uncommon to use the word handyperson instead, since it includes both men and women who are handy at fixing and building things. In any case, a handyman or handyperson doesn't specialize in one skill, but dabbles in many.
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.
See Examples For:
If you have to wait for a building superintendent or a handyman, an experience that is notoriously clock-agnostic, it’s no big deal to work from home that afternoon.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Outside, the couple leveled the once-dirt backyard, added pea gravel, built a pergola with a handyman and installed a firepit where they enjoy entertaining their friends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
Although I’m a writer with no talent for handyman projects, Bill always assured me and his other customers that we were up to the task.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Here in the cliff-side village of Las Cuevas, one family is mourning Chad Joseph, 26 years old, whom relatives described as a fisherman and handyman desperate to find a steady job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
When the surly handyman showed up that afternoon to nail up a few boards, he seemed an angel from heaven wielding a hammer.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Founder Kale Li told AFP she first became interested in the industry after becoming tired of dealing with inconsistently priced and unreliable handymen in southwestern Chengdu, where she lives.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Rhiannon says that her managing agents would arrange for handymen to come around to do repairs without consulting her first.
From BBC ● May 27, 2024
Even as sales to "Pro-customers" - which includes professional builders, contractors and handymen - were positive in the reported quarter, the company is bracing for softer-than-expected demand for discretionary purchases, CEO Marvin Ellison said.
From Reuters ● May 23, 2023
Lentz identified the other victims shot near the McCain siblings as Charles Manuel, 76, and John Rorie, 59, who were both handymen.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2023
I refused, even though I no longer had any illusions about what an education could do for me; I had already encountered too many college-graduate handymen.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
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.
