What does "hands-on" mean?

A session of active participation, often as part of training or education.

What is a synonym for "hands-on"?

Common synonyms include: action-based, at the coal face, front line, in the trenches.

Hands-on

//ˌhændz ˈɑn// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A session of active participation, often as part of training or education.

Adjective

1
Involving active participation. not-comparable
"The internship will provide hands-on training."

Adjective

1
involving active participation wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

action-based at the coal face front line in the trenches

Antonyms

All antonyms

hands off

Example

More examples

"Working in a building that was once a trolley barn, the students immerse themselves in an intense, hands-on program that trains them in traditional European craftsmanship – which many believe to be a vanishing art form."

Etymology

Possibly from the phrase all hands on deck.

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