Meaning of handle in English

handle

noun [ C ]

/ˈhæn.dəl/ us

/ˈhæn.dəl/

handle noun [C] (PART)

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a part of an object designed for holding, moving, or carrying the object easily:

a door handle

the handle on a suitcase

I can't pick the kettle up - the handle's too hot.

turn a handle She turned the handle and slowly opened the door.

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I just opened the drawer as usual and the handle came away in my hand.
The handle on this door is rather stiff.
Slowly, I turned the door handle.
I picked it up and the handle broke off.
The door handles were made of brass.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Having in your hands

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handle noun [C] (NAME)

informal

a name of a person or place, especially a strange one:

That's some handle to go through life with!

internet & telecoms specialized, informal

a name that someone is known by on some social media websites:

On this site, handles start with an @ sign.

You can follow the team under the handle @ManUtd.

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Names and titles

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Internet terminology

Idioms

to get a handle on something

to have a handle on something

handle

verb

/ˈhæn.dəl/ us

/ˈhæn.dəl/

handle verb (DEAL WITH)

B1 [ T ]

to deal with, have responsibility for, or be in charge of:

I thought he handled the situation very well.

Some people are brilliant with computers, but have no idea how to handle (= behave with) other people.

If you can't handle the job I'll get someone else to do it.

Who handles the marketing in your company?

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This is a very delicate situation and it needs to be handled sensitively.
Only some of the bank's lending operations are handled directly by the manager.
The president has been criticized for the way he has handled the whole affair.
The customer services department handles any customer complaints.
So far, he seems to be handling the job well, but it's really too soon to judge.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Dealing with things or people

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handle verb (TOUCH)

C2 [ T ]

to pick something up and touch, hold, or move it with your hands:

Always wash your hands before handling food.

Please don't handle the vases - they're very fragile.

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Touching & feeling

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handle verb (OPERATE)

[ T ]

to operate or control something that could be difficult or dangerous:

Have you ever handled a gun before?

[ I usually + adv/prep ]

If a car handles well, it is easy and pleasant to drive.

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Controlling and being in charge

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On the road: driving & operating road vehicles

handle verb (SELL)

[ T ]

to buy and sell goods:

We only handle cosmetics that have not been tested on animals.

mainly UK He's been arrested for handling stolen goods.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Buying & selling - general words

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(Definition of handle from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

handle | American Dictionary

handle

verb [ T ]

/ˈhæn·dəl/

handle verb [T] (TOUCH)

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to lift something and touch, hold, or move it with your hands:

Please handle the old photographs carefully.

handle verb [T] (DEAL WITH)

to deal with, have responsibility for, or be in charge of something:

Who handles the marketing in your company?

Some managers have no idea how to handle people.

handle

noun [ C ]

/ˈhæn·dəl/

handle noun [C] (TOUCH)

a part of an object designed for holding, moving, or carrying the object:

the handle of a shovel

I can’t pick the pot up – the handle’s too hot.

(Definition of handle from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

handle | Business English

handle

verb [ T ]

/ˈhændl/ us

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to deal with something difficult:

handle pressure/stress/problems It was a job that taught me how to handle pressure and use it to my advantage.

to deal with something or someone such as money, goods, or customers:

Your financial adviser can handle all the details of purchasing shares.

to be responsible for organizing or managing something or someone:

The office in Europe also handles marketing for the region.

COMMERCE

to buy and sell goods:

We only handle cosmetics which have not been tested on animals.

COMMERCE

to move or store goods:

The distribution company handles around 45 per cent of all the milk produced in the UK.

He admitted handling stolen goods.

to use your hands to move or hold something:

Staff are trained and equipped to handle hazardous materials.

handle

noun

/ˈhændl/ us

get/have a handle on sth informal

to understand something or be able to deal with something:

By coming in early and staying late she started to get a handle on the problem.

(Definition of handle from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of handle

handle

Ways of handling the difficulties experienced by focus group participants were highlighted in the later enumerator training sessions before the actual survey was conducted.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Here the judgment was made regardless of the way in which the materials were handled or treated, or any utterances that the child made.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Effect of neonatal handling on age-related impairments associated with the hippocampus.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Postnatal handling attenuates neuroendocrine, anatomical, and cognitive impairments related to the aged hippocampus.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The other cases are handled in the same way.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Both these senses are claimed to be uniformly handled by her account, which consists in the following two claims.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

With extensive willow beds this method of control presents some difficulty, since only part of the crop could be handled in the period suggested.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The o(2) norm is handled in the same way.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

She covers about 800 advertisements in different written genres, which makes her study wider because she handles advertising as well as business names.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

All responses are being handled collectively, without identifying any particular respondent in the summary of results.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A very convenient non-standard method for handling the singular perturbation problems for any limiting case will be presented.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

To encourage the development of parental confidence and skills in handling and feeding which reduces parental anxiety, increases their sense of competency and controllability.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Replicated loop designs are very convenient and efficient designs for handling this latter situation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, traditional multivariate analysis is incapable of handling such a high dimensionality of the multivariate model.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The recorded animals remained in their full-sib groups and any difference between them is due to handling frequency.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with handle

handle

These are words often used in combination with handle.

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bolt handle

In the stock, a recess had to be made to accommodate the turned-down bolt handle modification.

From

Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

broom handle

Range myself on the side of the broom handle, was his answer.

From

Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

carrying handle

Titanium was used to make the receiver body, front sight post, and carrying handle while maintaining steel operating system components.

From

Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

See all collocations with handle

What is the pronunciation of handle?

Translations of handle

in Chinese (Traditional)

部分, 柄，把手, 名稱…

Meaning of handle in English

handle noun [C] (PART)

handle noun [C] (NAME)

Idioms

handle verb (DEAL WITH)

handle verb (TOUCH)

handle verb (OPERATE)

handle verb (SELL)

handle | American Dictionary

handle verb [T] (TOUCH)

handle verb [T] (DEAL WITH)

handle noun [C] (TOUCH)

handle | Business English

Examples of handle

Collocations with handle

handle

Translations of handle

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