Open-handed
adj, adv, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 simple past and past participle of open-hand form-of, participle, past
- 1 Done with the hand open rather than clenched
"Hitters use the open-handed tip to try to softly place the ball over the blockers or into other open areas of the opponent's court."
- 2 Liberal and generous.
"'No, no,' said the undertaker; 'not an open-handed gentleman in general, by any means. There you mistake him; but an afflicted gentleman, an affectionate gentleman, who knows what it is in the power of money to do, in giving him relief, and in testifying his love and veneration for the departed.'"
- 3 Frank, honest, and tolerant.
"Despite Gustavus' open-handed dealing, many princes of Europe did not trust him."
- 4 Characterized by looseness and fullness.
"She sat there for more than three hours, as sheet after sheet became covered with her open-handed writing."
- 1 With an open hand or hands.
"Winding their way to the land of snow and ice they saw approaching a band of warriors covered with emblems of peace,and, leaving their stony weapons in care of the younger braves, they walked open-handed to meet the strangers."
- 2 Generously.
"The money here was given open-handed, and Parliament was not to be informed what was to be done with it."
Example
More examples"Hitters use the open-handed tip to try to softly place the ball over the blockers or into other open areas of the opponent's court."
Etymology
From open + handed.
Related phrases
More for "open-handed"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.