handle
handle [hănʹdl] verb
handled, handling, handles
verb, transitive
1. To touch, lift, or hold with the hands.
2. To operate with the hands; manipulate.
3. To deal with or have responsibility for; conduct: handles matters of corporate law.
4. To cope with or dispose of: handles problems efficiently.
5. a. To direct, execute, or dispose of: handle an investment. b. To manage, administer to, or represent: handle a boxer.
6. To deal or trade in the purchase or sale of: a branch office that handles grain exports.
verb, intransitive
To act or function in a given way while in operation: a car that handles well in the snow; a boat that handles poorly in rough water.
noun
1. A part that is designed to be held or operated with the hand.
2. An opportunity or a means for achieving a purpose.
3. Slang. A person's name.
4. Games. The total amount of money bet on an event or over a set period of time.
idiom.
get a handle on or have a handle on Informal
To achieve an understanding of: I was finally able to get a handle on the true nature of the problem.
[Middle English handelen, from Old English handlian.]
hanʹdleless adjective
Synonyms: handle, manipulate, wield, ply. These verbs mean to use or operate with or as if with the hands. Handle applies widely and suggests competence: He handles an ax like a born woodsman. She handled the employee's problem with sensitivity and direction. Manipulate connotes skillful or artful management, as of a tool or an instrument: The radio operator manipulated the dials and changed the frequency. When manipulate refers to people or personal affairs, it often implies deviousness or the use of improper influence or fraud in gaining an end: I put forth his suggestion as my own without realizing I had been manipulated. Wield implies freedom, skill, and ease in handling physical or figurative tools and implements: wield a hatchet; wields a persuasive pen. It also connotes effectiveness in the exercise of intangibles such as authority or influence: wielded enormous power. Ply suggests industry and persistence, as in the use of tools [plying a knife and fork with gusto]; the term also applies to the regular and diligent engagement in a task or pursuit [plies the baker's trade]. See also synonyms at touch, treat.