Meaning & use
handywoman
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Meanings
nouncountable
A woman who does small repairs and practical jobs in homes or buildings, often as paid work.
Grammar: Takes a: a handywoman, two handywomen.
Patterns
- hire a handywoman
- a handywoman for something
We hired a handywoman to fix the leaking tap.
My neighbor is a skilled handywoman who can build shelves in an afternoon.
The handywoman painted the hallway and hung three mirrors.
nouncountableinformal
A woman who is good at practical household repairs, even if she does it unpaid.
Grammar: Often used to praise someone: she is quite a handywoman.
Patterns
- be a good handywoman
My grandmother was a real handywoman and kept the house in perfect order.
She is a bit of a handywoman and fixed the bike herself.
Being a handywoman saves her a lot of money.
Word forms
| plural | handywomen |
|---|
Common combinations
- hire a handywoman
- We hired a handywoman to hang the door.
- local handywoman
- The local handywoman fixes fences.
- skilled handywoman
- She is a skilled handywoman.
- call a handywoman
- Call a handywoman if the shelf is loose.
- work as a handywoman
- She works as a handywoman in the village.
Synonyms and how they differ
- handyman
- Handyman is the same job but traditionally for a man.
- handyperson
- Handyperson is gender-neutral and common in job adverts.
- odd-job worker
- Odd-job worker stresses that the work is varied and irregular, rather than the skill.
- repairwoman
- Repairwoman is rare and suggests one kind of work, repairs only.
Word family
Commonly confused: handywoman or handmaid?
handywoman vs handmaid
A handmaid is an old word for a female servant, not a repair worker.
Practice
We asked a ____ to fix the loose cupboard door and paint the fence.
Choose one answer.
A handywoman does small repairs and practical jobs. A housekeeper manages a house and a handmaid is an old word for a servant.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “handywoman”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.