Meaning & use
handcuff
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To fasten a person's wrists together, or to something fixed, using a pair of metal rings.
Grammar: Takes an object: the officer handcuffed the suspect.
Patterns
- handcuff someone
- handcuff someone to something
The officer handcuffed the suspect and read him his rights.
They handcuffed the thief to a bench until help arrived.
The magician asked to be handcuffed before the trick.
nounusually plural
One of the pair of metal rings joined by a chain, used to lock someone's wrists together.
Grammar: Usually used in the plural: a pair of handcuffs.
Patterns
- a pair of handcuffs
- put handcuffs on someone
The police put handcuffs on the driver.
A pair of handcuffs hung from the officer's belt.
He escaped from the handcuffs in under a minute.
verbtransitivefigurative
To seriously limit someone's freedom or ability to act, usually because of rules or circumstances.
Grammar: Often used in the passive: the team was handcuffed by budget cuts.
Patterns
- be handcuffed by something
The coach felt handcuffed by the new salary limits.
Strict rules handcuffed the researchers.
Word forms
| third person singular | handcuffs |
|---|---|
| past tense | handcuffed |
| past participle | handcuffed |
| -ing form | handcuffing |
| plural | handcuffs |
Common combinations
- put handcuffs on
- They put handcuffs on the suspect.
- in handcuffs
- The man was led away in handcuffs.
- handcuff to a radiator
- The prankster handcuffed his friend to a radiator.
- pair of handcuffs
- She found a pair of handcuffs in the drawer.
- remove the handcuffs
- The guard removed the handcuffs at the station.
Synonyms and how they differ
- restrain
- Restrain is broader, covering any means of holding someone back, while handcuff names one specific device.
- shackle
- Shackle suggests heavy chains and is often used for historical or figurative contexts.
- manacle
- Manacle is a literary or older word for a chain around the wrists, less common than handcuff.
- cuff
- Cuff is an informal short form, mostly used in police and news contexts.
Opposites
Word family
- handcuffs noun
- the pair of locking rings
- handcuffed adjective
- wearing locked rings on the wrists
- cuff verb
- to restrain with metal rings
- uncuff verb
- to unlock the rings from someone's wrists
Commonly confused: handcuff or cuff?
handcuff vs cuff
A cuff is also the end of a sleeve, so context tells you whether handcuff or clothing is meant.
Practice
The officer ___ the suspect before putting him in the car.
Choose one answer.
Handcuffed fits because the suspect is restrained; handled means touched or dealt with, handwritten and handpicked do not fit the context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “handcuff”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.