handing over

verb

present participle of hand over
1
as in relinquishing
to give (something) over to the control or possession of another usually under duress the police officer ordered the suspect to hand over his weapons

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in providing
to put (something) into the possession of someone for use or consumption in response to a desperate plea, we handed over all our extra blankets and pillows to the homeless shelter

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in leaving
to put (something) into the possession or safekeeping of another handed over their valuables to the desk clerk, who put them in the hotel safe

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4
as in handing
to shift possession of (something) from one person to another hand over that screwdriver, will you please?

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of handing over Homeowners can’t obtain advice or accurate estimates without handing over their phone numbers and risk being pestered by overzealous salespeople. — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2026 Tyler, the Creator is once again making fans do a little homework before handing over the goods. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 18 Aug. 2026 Smith stepped away from the series after the fifth season, handing over charge to Gaby Chiappe for season six and Ben Vanstone for season seven. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Aug. 2026 Iger, of course, stepped aside from Disney once again earlier this year, handing over the company to Josh D’Amaro, who succeeded Chapek a the head of Disney’s experiences business. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026 In some cases, Ukraine didn’t know whom Russia was handing over until after the exchange. — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 Facebook's social graph was built by three billion people handing over their interests in exchange for a service priced at zero, with the terms of service doing the accounting. — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Her parents weren’t so sure and convinced her to fly out to see the place in person before handing over any cash. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 21 July 2026 After falsely bending the knee to Daemon (Matt Smith), pretending to swear fealty to Rhaenyra, and handing over a decoy Daeron, Ormund decamped with his army to the unfortified market town of Tumbleton. — Megan McCluskey, Time, 20 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handing over
  1. relinquishing
  2. providing
  3. leaving
  4. handing
  5. rendering
  6. giving
  7. transferring
  8. passing
Verb
  • America is the ultimate answer to the pogrom, and to the emancipation Europe offered on the condition of relinquishing Jewish ethnic and cultural distinctiveness.
    — Rory Lancman, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Giudice survived prison, divorce and years of family warfare without relinquishing her place at the center of New Jersey.
    — Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of relinquishing
Verb
  • Our absolute priority right now is providing unwavering support to their families, friends, and teammates during this devastating time.
    — Jack Moore, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Sundeeep Dosanjh with the Rocklin Unified School District said teachers are also providing some flexibility to students who need additional time to finish eating.
    — Conor McGill, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of providing
Verb
  • But that process has proven slippery for more than 250 communities that received no bids for the 2026-27 season, leaving them to choose whether to stay with the state and wait for emergency bids or find alternative sources.
    — Steve Zalusky, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Amenities and experiences The Rockaway Hotel makes a pretty convincing case for never leaving the property.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of leaving
Verb
  • Planning ahead of time and handing things over properly removes most of the need for communicating while on holiday.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 21 Aug. 2026
  • And in tech supply chains, a chip squeeze is hitting Chinese smartphone makers in India, handing Apple and Samsung room to gain ground.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of handing
Verb
  • Russia is slowly edging towards its territorial goal of taking the Donbas – albeit through rendering the remaining ground held by Ukraine uninhabitable through horrific drone strikes on all signs of civilian and military life.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Restore screenwriter Scott Frank’s original idea of rendering the past in black and white.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of rendering
Verb
  • For shopper Kori Farmer, The Grocery Spot helps stretch her budget while giving her access to fresh food close to home.
    — Jamal Goss, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The crisis is giving new urgency to an energy problem that Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers were already confronting.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of giving
Verb
  • Such attention to detail is normalized in a scientific setting - using extreme caution when transferring substances from surface to surface is standard practice.
    — Elizabeth MacBride, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The agencies have historically planned transit service independently even though transit riders often use more than one service — for instance, taking a CTA bus to a Metra train station, or transferring from a Pace bus to the CTA.
    — Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of transferring
Verb
  • The sedan swerved and prevented the pickup from passing several times, and the vehicles almost collided.
    — Riley Moser, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • As Cole is driving Tibu back from a passing-of-the-torch party, the two are ambushed, and Tibu is killed.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of passing

Browse Nearby Words

handing out
handing over
hand in hand
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Handing over.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handing%20over. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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