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🛠️ To manage ☕ A part to hold 🤲 To touch or hold 💻 A username 🗣️ To discuss 🐕 To train an animal
to handle

to handle

∞ 2.1
Deal with a task, person, or situation
  • verb
  • /ˈhændl/
: encargarse de
  • The manager will handle all customer complaints with care.
  • handle the situation
  • able to handle
  • handle problems

But how well does this person handle me and my stuff?

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Examples

Synonyms

to take care
vsto handle
∞ 1.3

To look after a person or thing and deal with their needs

is focused on responsibility broadly rather than only on caregiving or arrangements
to take care of
vsto handle
∞ 1.3

To look after someone or deal with a problem

covers responsibility more widely beyond personal care or single problems
to manage
vsto handle
199 2.3

To hold and use things carefully so they do not break or fall

is more general, applying to responsibility in many everyday situations
to see about
vsto handle
  • Informal
84 3.0

To arrange and take care of something

is broader, covering taking responsibility without needing planning or preparation
to take care of business
vsto handle
66 3.8

To handle important tasks or responsibilities

is used for responsibility in any task, not only urgent or business matters
to administer
vsto handle
  • Formal
61 4.7

Manage the running of something like a business or program

is less formal and applies to everyday responsibility as well as official roles
to have a handle on
vsto handle
20 4.2

To understand something well enough to deal with it

focuses on being responsible rather than on understanding or skill level
to steward
vsto handle
3 3.9

To manage and take care of something for someone or an organization

is the general act of being responsible across people, tasks, or situations

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to abandon
607 3.1

Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care

Idioms

to fly off the handle
  • Informal
8 6.8

To suddenly become very angry

to handle with kid gloves
  • Informal
3 7.0

Treat someone very gently to avoid upsetting them

too hot to handle
  • Informal
2 7.7

A subject that is too difficult or risky to deal with

Phrasal Verbs

to have a handle on
20 4.2

To understand something well enough to deal with it

to handle with care
8 3.5

To treat someone or something gently to avoid harm

to handle a situation
5 3.2

To deal with a problem or difficult event well

to handle with ease
1 3.3

Deal with a task or problem easily and with confidence

to crank the handle
1 3.7

Turn a handle by hand to make a machine start or work

to handle oneself
1 5.4

To act calmly and correctly in difficult or stressful situations

to handle your dickery
  • Offensive
9.9

To accept someone's annoying or foolish behavior without complaining

Compounds

love handle
  • Informal
10 3.9

A small roll of fat at the sides of the waist

broom handle
3 1.0

A long stick used to hold and move a broom

ax handle
  • US
3 2.5

A wooden or metal stick you hold to use an ax

mop handle
1 1.0

A long stick attached to a mop used for holding and moving it while cleaning

rake handle
1 2.5

A long stick used to hold a garden tool for moving leaves

crank handle
1 4.9

A piece you turn by hand to start an engine or make a machine work

handle-bars
1 7.4

A large bushy moustache with long ends that curl or hang beside the mouth

basket-handle arch
  • Specialized
8.2

An arch with a wide, flat curve made from parts of three circles, often used in bridges and large buildings

knife-handle
9.9

A small sea clam with a long narrow curved shell like the handle of a knife

starting handle
  • Specialized
8.8

A metal crank you put into an engine and turn by hand to make it run

How Well

to master
181 4.1
to cope with
170 2.9
to handle
∞ 2.1
to struggle
∞ 2.8
to mishandle
35 4.9

Surface Forms

handle infinitive
handled past
handled past participle
handling present participle
handles third person singular

Morphology

handle = hand (semi-transparent) = hand + le

The managerial sense is a metaphorical extension from physical manipulation ('use with the hand') to controlling or managing tasks, which is inferable but less literal.

Etymology

Handle comes from the idea of taking something in your hand to control it. So to handle a situation or a person is to manage or deal with them.