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handstand

handstand

13 2.9
Balancing the body upside down on the hands with legs straight up
  • noun
  • /ˈhændˌstænd/
translation icon : parada de manos
  • I can do a handstand for almost ten seconds.
  • handstands and cartwheels
  • handstands and headstands
  • handstands on the carpet

I mean, as a kid I would do at night, I would do sit ups and handstand push ups against my door.

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Examples

  • Mayfield was going to walk on his hands, doing a handstand.

  • Look, she's doing a handstand.

  • Watch me do a handstand!

  • My brother began with a handstand along the side rail.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Place your feet against the wall and balance with your palms on the floor, as though in a handstand position.

    Blog text (10)
  • I'm really good at handstands.

  • To illustrate, consider a student with low muscle tone who is working at a station that focuses on the handstand.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Sally nods; she and Joe, at Steven's instructions, come out of their handstands and lie on the floor in a stretched relax, facing one another.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Join the circus and learn how to trapeze, tightrope walk, handstand, etc. (Jan-March) 2.

    Blog text (2)
  • I can do a handstand for almost ten seconds.

Antonyms

191 1.0

A drop from a higher to a lower level

How Difficult

to backflip
1 3.3
handspring
7 5.8
handstand
13 2.9
cartwheel
15 3.7
to roll over
30 1.4

Surface Forms

handstand singular
handstands plural

Morphology

handstand = hand + stand (transparent) = hand + stand

A literal compound: the meaning ('a stand performed on the hands') follows directly from 'hand' + 'stand'.

Etymology

Handstand comes from two simple parts, hand and stand, and literally means 'stand on your hands'. That's why a handstand is balancing upside down with your hands on the ground and your legs in the air.