Handle Meaning
/ˈhæn.d(ə)l/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe part of an object which is (designed to be) held in the hand when used or moved.
nounAn instrument for effecting a purpose (either literally or figuratively); a tool, or an opportunity or pretext.
Sentence Examples
It all depends how you handle it.
It's hard to handle crying babies.
She turned the handle and opened the door.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She knows how to ____ difficult customers politely at work.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ on the heavy suitcase was broken, making it very difficult to carry.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English handel, handle, from Old English handle (“handle”), from Proto-West Germanic *handulā (“handle”). See verb below. Cognate with German Hantel (“dumbbell, barbell”), Danish handel (“handle”). Related to hand.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Once his fingers strayed to the handle of his hunting-knife, and I should have interfered had I not been conscious that Wickliffe was on his guard."
— 1854, John Hovey Robinson, Silver-knife: or, The hunters of the Rocky Mountains, page 133:
"By pushing the fork downwards so that its teeth pass the handle of the stopper, and then turning the cover of the desiccator 90°, the handle of the stopper falls into the furrows and rests upon them."
— 1902, “Atomic Weight of Lanthanum”, in Journal of the Chemical Society, volume 81, part 2:
"By keeping the handle of the bellows fixed in any given position the lung within the chamber could be kept for a short time at any desired degree of distension, and by pressing at intervals upon the bag, air could be forced to and fro between the bad and the lung outside the chamber, without distending the air within it."
— 1905, “Origin of the Respiratory Sounds”, in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, volume 37:
"But first they were gonna stop in Las Vegas / It's off to Las Vegas / To check out the lounges / Pull a few handles"
— 1972, Frank Zappa, “Billy the Mountain”:
"They overturned him to all his interests by the sure but fatal handle of his own good nature."
— 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She knows how to ____ difficult customers politely at work.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ on the heavy suitcase was broken, making it very difficult to carry.