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Meaning & use

hand print

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈhænd ˌprɪnt/
US/ˈhænd ˌprɪnt/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A mark left when a hand, covered in paint, dirt or ink, is pressed onto a surface.

    Grammar: A countable noun: one hand print, many hand prints.

    Patterns

    • a hand print on something
    • leave a hand print

    The toddler left a bright blue hand print on the kitchen wall.

    Each child pressed a hand print onto the poster for their teacher.

    I wiped a muddy hand print off the car window.

  2. nouncountabletechnical

    The pattern of ridges on a person's palm and fingers, which can be recorded to identify them.

    Grammar: Used in police and security contexts, like fingerprint.

    Patterns

    • a hand print scanner
    • match a hand print

    Police lifted a clear hand print from the glass door.

    The lab matched the hand print to a suspect.

    Some secure buildings use hand print scanners at the entrance.

Word forms

pluralhand prints

Common combinations

leave a hand print
Visitors leave a hand print in clay at the gallery.
muddy hand print
There was a muddy hand print on the freshly painted door.
press a hand print
They pressed a hand print into the wet cement.
painted hand prints
The classroom wall was covered in painted hand prints.
small hand print
The small hand print on the glass belonged to the baby.
lift a hand print
The detective lifted a hand print from the table.

Synonyms and how they differ

palm print
A palm print is the mark of just the palm, so it is narrower than a hand print, which includes the fingers.
fingerprint
A fingerprint is the mark of one fingertip, so it is smaller and is the usual word for identification.
handmark
Handmark is rarer and more general, with no suggestion of an artistic or forensic purpose.

Word family

hand noun
the end of the arm with fingers
print noun
a mark made by pressing
fingerprint noun
a mark left by a fingertip
footprint noun
a mark left by a foot
handprint noun
the one-word spelling of hand print

Commonly confused: hand print or fingerprint?

hand print vs fingerprint

A fingerprint is left by a fingertip, while a hand print comes from the whole palm and fingers.

Practice

The toddler pressed her whole painted hand against the paper and left a bright ___.

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