- (v.t.) To touch; to feel with the hand; to use or hold with the hand.
- (v.t.) To treat; to use, well or ill.
- (v.t.) To manage in using, as a spade or a musket; to wield; often, to manage skillfully.
- (v.t.) To deal with; to make a business of.
- (v.t.) To use or manage in writing or speaking; to treat, as a theme, an argument or an objection.
- (v.t.) To accustom to the hand; to work upon or take care of, with the hands.
- (n.) That of which use is made; the instrument for effecting a purpose; a tool.
- (v.i.) To use the hands.
- (v.t.) To receive and transfer; to have pass through one's hands; hence, to buy and sell; as, a merchant handles a variety of goods or a large stock.
- (n.) That part of vessels, instruments, etc., which is held in the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc.
- (v.t.) To manage; to control; to practice skill upon.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). handle. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/handle/definitions/2014911 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "handle" http://smartdefine.org/handle/definitions/2014911 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, handle, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/handle/definitions/2014911>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "handle" 27 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/handle/definitions/2014911> |