20 hand idioms

Hand idioms are common in English and can describe different situations and behaviors. From offering help to taking control, these idioms cover a wide range of topics, helping you sound more natural in your conversations. Here’s 20 useful hand idioms, with explanations and examples for each.

Lend a hand

To offer help or assistance.

In good hands

To be safe or well taken care of.

Hands down

Without a doubt, or easily.

A hand-me-down

Something, usually clothes, given from one person to another.

Wash one’s hands of something

To decide to stop being involved with something.

Hand in hand

Something that happens together or side by side.

To be caught red-handed

To be caught doing something wrong.

A show of hands

Voting or showing that we agree by raising hands.

To have one’s hands full

To be very busy.

Hand it to someone

To give credit to someone for doing something, to say that someone did a good job.

First-hand

To go through something by ourselves or hear something directly from a person.

Get out of hand

To get out of control.

To have a hand in something

To be involved in something.

Take it off one’s hands

To take over a task from someone else.

Take matters into one’s own hands

To take care of a problem by yourself.

To have something at hand

To have something available or nearby.

To play into someone’s hands

To do something that is good for someone else, often by accident.

To handpick

To select something or someone carefully, by ourselves.

Give a hand

To applaud or clap for someone.

To have the upper hand

To have an advantage or be in a better position.

Did you find the hand idioms interesting? Make sure to also explore our article on health and body idioms!