handle

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To touch, lift, or hold with the hands.
2. v. To operate with the hands; manipulate.
3. v. To deal with or have responsibility for; conduct: handles matters of corporate law.
4. v. To cope with or dispose of: handles problems efficiently.
5. v. To direct, execute, or dispose of: handle an investment.
6. v. To manage, administer to, or represent: handle a boxer.
7. v. To deal or trade in the purchase or sale of: a branch office that handles grain exports.
8. v. To act or function in a given way while in operation: a car that handles well in the snow.
9. n. A part that is designed to be held or operated with the hand.
10. n. An opportunity or a means for achieving a purpose.
11. n. Understanding or control: has a handle on the situation.
12. n. Slang A person's name.
13. n. Games The total amount of money bet on an event or over a set period of time.
14. idiom. get Informal To achieve an understanding of: I was finally able to get a handle on the true nature of the problem.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To touch or feel with the hand; use the hand or hands upon.
2. To manage by hand; use or wield with manual skill; ply; manipulate; act upon or control by the hand: as, to handle one's colors; to handle the reins.
3. In general, to manage; direct; control; hold or keep in hand: as, to handle a fish when hooked; to handle a dog in the field; to handle troops in battle.
4. To act upon or toward; use in some way (with regard to conduct); treat; deal with.
5. To treat of; discourse upon; expound, as a topic.
6. To make use of; be concerned with; have to do with.
7. To trade or deal in; buy and sell: as, to handle stationery, stocks, or real estate.
8. [⟨ handle, n.] To furnish with a handle or handles: as, to handle a teacup.
9. To use the hands; act or work by means of the hands.
10. To act or give a result of any kind when handled.
11. n. That part of a thing which is intended to be grasped by the hand in using or moving it. The handles of many things have distinctive names. Thus, the handle of a sword is the hilt; of a plow, the staff or stilt; of an ax or hammer, the helve; of a knife, the haft; of a rake, the stale; of a scythe, the snath; of a rudder, the tiller; of a crab or winch, the crank; of a pump, the brake or lever; of a door or lock, the knob; of a steam-engine, the hand-lever; of a boat-hook, lance, etc., the shaft; of a platen printing-press, the rounce, by which the bed is run in and out; of a kettle, the bail; of a drill, bit, or gun, the stock.
12. n. That by means of which anything is done; the instrument of effecting a purpose: said of a person or thing.
13. n. In botany, in the Characeæ, same as manubrium.
14. n. The feel or touch of goods handled.

Wiktionary

1. v. intransitive To use the hands.
2. v. To touch; to feel with the hand.
3. v. To use or hold with the hand.
4. v. To manage in using, as a spade or a musket; to wield; often, to manage skillfully.
5. v. To accustom to the hand; to work upon, or take care of, with the hands.
6. v. To receive and transfer; to have pass through one's hands; hence, to buy and sell; as, a merchant handles a variety of goods, or a large stock
7. v. To deal with; to make a business of.
8. v. To treat; to use, well or ill.
9. v. To manage; to control; to practice skill upon.
10. v. To use or manage in writing or speaking; to treat, as a theme, an argument, or an objection.
11. v. soccer To touch the ball with the hand or arm; to commit handball.
12. n. A part of an object which is held in the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc.
13. n. That of which use is made; an instrument for effecting a purpose (either literally or figuratively); a tool.
14. n. Australia, New Zealand A 10 fl oz (285 ml) glass of beer in the Northern Territory. See also pot, middy for other regional variations.
15. n. US a 1.75-liter (half-gallon) bottle of alcohol
16. n. computing A reference to an object or structure that can be stored in a variable.
17. n. gambling The gross amount of wagering within a given period of time or for a given event at one of more establishments.
18. n. geography (rare) (Newfoundland-and-Labrador) A point: an extremity of land.
19. n. textiles The tactile qualities of a fabric, e.g., softness, firmness, elasticity, fineness, resilience, and other qualities perceived by touch.
20. n. topology A topological space homeomorphic to a ball but viewed as a product of two lower-dimensional balls.
21. n. slang A name, nickname or pseudonym.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To touch; to feel with the hand; to use or hold with the hand.
2. v. To manage in using, as a spade or a musket; to wield; often, to manage skillfully.
3. v. To accustom to the hand; to work upon, or take care of, with the hands.
4. v. To receive and transfer; to have pass through one's hands; hence, to buy and sell.
5. v. To deal with; to make a business of.
6. v. To treat; to use, well or ill.
7. v. To manage; to control; to practice skill upon.
8. v. To use or manage in writing or speaking; to treat, as a theme, an argument, or an objection.
9. v. To use the hands.
10. n. That part of vessels, instruments, etc., which is held in the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc.
11. n. That of which use is made; the instrument for effecting a purpose; a tool.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. interact in a certain way
2. v. handle effectively
3. v. act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
4. v. touch, lift, or hold with the hands
5. n. the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it
6. v. be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
7. v. show and train