Longhand
//ˈlɒŋˌhænd// adv, noun
adv, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The written characters used in the common method of writing; opposed to shorthand, or typing or printing; handwriting. countable, uncountable
"When, however, in any particular case, he has no assured means of determining the true spelling of the name, he should always quietly interrupt the dictater with the request, " Spell it , please," and then write the name in longhand from the dictater's spelling."
- 2 rapid handwriting in which letters are set down in full and are cursively connected within words without lifting the writing implement from the paper wordnet
Adjective
- 1 having words written out in full by hand wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Written by hand in normal characters, as opposed to shorthand. not-comparable
- 2 Written by hand (with pen or pencil), rather than printed out; handwritten. not-comparable
"I had to write the essay out twice longhand – they wouldn’t let me print it out. It took forever!"
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"That girl couldn't take things down in longhand, let alone shorthand."
Etymology
From long + hand, by analogy with shorthand.
More for "longhand"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.