| hand around/round |
To pass something to all the people present in a group. |
Could one of you hand these drinks around, please? |
| hand back |
To return something to the same person who gave it out. |
The officer handed back the form to me for filling it wrongly. |
| hand down |
To pass on from older to younger generation. |
These fairy stories and legends have been handed down from generation to generation. |
| To pass something on to a younger member of the family. |
Her pearl necklace was handed down from her grandmother. |
| To publicly announce a judgment. |
The sentence handed down by the judge was too lenient. |
| hand in |
To give something to a person who is in a position of authority. |
The students handed in their homework without being told to. |
| hand out |
To distribute. |
The volunteers helped to hand out parcels of food to victims of the disaster. |
| hand over |
To give up. |
The captives were ordered to hand over their weapons. |
| To pass control of someone to someone else |
Members of the crowd caught the pickpocket and handed him over to the police. |
| To pass responsibility for something to someone else |
The receptionist handed my call over to the person in charge. |
| hang around |
To idle. |
She spends her time hanging around with friends in the park. |
| To spend with someone |
He hanged around with the wrong people and ended up in prison. |
| hang back |
To be reluctant to do something because of lack of confidence or shyness. |
He is often advised not to hang back but to mix freely at school. |
| hang on |
To wait. |
She asked me to hang on while she made a telephone call. |
| To hold tightly to something. |
The standing passengers hung on tight as the bus went along a narrow, bumpy road. |
| To continue in spite of difficulty. |
We were exhausted but we realized we had to hang on a bit longer as we were nearing the summit. |
| To depend on. |
He believes the success of his public speaking hangs on his ability to speak effectively and clearly. |
| To pay particular attention to |
The cult members hang on every word spoken by their leader as they have great faith in him. |
| hang on to |
To keep something. |
Grandpa hangs on to his collection of stamps with the belief that they become more and more valuable as time passes. |
| hang out |
To spend a lot of time with someone at some place. |
After school, he hangs out with his classmates in a snooker hall. |
| hang over |
To mull the possibility of something happening. |
The thought of her husband’s unfaithfulness never ceases to hang over her. |
| hang together |
To stick or stay together. |
They hung together while waiting for the rescue team to find them. |
| hang up |
To abruptly end a telephone conversation. |
She was so angry she hung up before I could explain. |
| To replace the telephone receiver |
Finally, she hung up after speaking for more than an hour. |
| happen along |
To be, come, or go to a place by chance. |
We invited our former lecturer to join us for a drink when he happened along. |
| happen by |
To find a place by chance. |
We would have remained lost if we hadn’t happened by a souvenir shop selling street maps. |
| happen on/upon |
To find by chance. |
He happened upon the key to his car just as he was about to give up his search. |
| To come upon. |
We were walking and chatting when we happened on a fat wallet on the pavement. |
| happen to |
To have or seem to have disappeared |
Whatever happened to those ducks that used to waddle along the river bank? |
| hold against |
To dislike someone for their past wrong or mistake. |
It was not totally his fault, so I can’t hold it against him alone. |
| hold back |
To have control over something. |
She struggled to hold back her tears. |
| To block one’s advancement. |
He felt his lack of qualifications would hold him back from his well-deserved promotion. |
| To retain in one’s possession. |
The police subjected him to further interrogation as they believed he was holding back some information. |
| hold down |
To keep a job. |
Mick seems unable to hold down a job for longer than a month. |
| To restrain someone. |
He wanted to beat up the other guy, and it took the two of us to hold him down. |
| hold forth |
To talk at great length. |
For more than an hour, the speaker held forth on the inevitable end of the world. |
| hold off |
To delay doing something. |
He always holds off making decisions until the very last moment. |
| To have not happened at once |
It was unexpected that, despite the looming dark clouds, the rain held off until after we arrived home. |
| To avoid being attacked |
They held the invading armies off until reinforcements arrived. |
| hold on |
To wait for a short while. |
He asked me to hold on and he will be out in a minute. |
| To maintain a firm hold of something |
In the tug of war, the participants held on tightly to the rope and pulled it with all their might. |
| hold on to |
To grip firmly to something. |
We held tightly on to the rail as the bus sped on. |
| To retain possession of |
She held on to the national title for the second year running. |
| hold out |
To offer. |
The supermarket held out the chance for customers to win a brand new car. |
| To defend or continue to resist. |
They could not hold out the fort as reinforcements arrived late. |
| To last. |
Will the food hold out through the winter? |
| To offer the prospect for the future |
The financial leaders are not holding out any hope of a quick recovery in the national economy. |
| hold out for |
To accept something less. |
The other party is not holding out for a compromise, but instead insisted they are the legal owners of the land. |
| To desist from providing information |
Why do you hold out on me all the things I need to know? |
| hold over |
To postpone. |
The match was held over because of the snowy conditions. |
| To extend the duration of the showing of a film |
The film was unexpectedly held over for a couple of months. |
| hold to |
To manage to achieve a draw and nothing more against an opponent. |
The home team held the away team to a 2-2 draw. |
| To remain faithful |
She held to her religious beliefs despite marrying someone from another religion. |
| hold together |
To remain united or mutually loyal. |
The different factions within the party are held together by a charismatic leader. |
| hold up |
To delay. |
We arrived late as we were held up by traffic jam. |
| To rob someone using the threat of violence |
The gang held up a money changer at gunpoint before fleeing with huge amounts of different currencies. |
| hold up as |
To use as a model. |
The Governor was held up as a model of integrity and decency. |