Handholder

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    One who holds hands (with someone else).

    "We were never handholders. We were always withdrawn and alone, unlike Italians, Poles, Jews, and other friends I had who were fresh and spontaneous in their affection."

  2. 2
    Someone or something that provides reassurance and/or assistance for doing something difficult.

    "In the meantime, Bouchard will continue to play his role as handholder and benefactor to his province and peacemaker for the country."

Example

More examples

"We were never handholders. We were always withdrawn and alone, unlike Italians, Poles, Jews, and other friends I had who were fresh and spontaneous in their affection."

Etymology

From hand + holder.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.