Meaning & use
palm
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Meanings
nouncountable
The flat inner part of the hand between the wrist and the base of the fingers.
Grammar: Countable: the palm of your hand.
Patterns
- in the palm of your hand
- palm up
She held the coin in the palm of her hand.
His palms were sweaty before the speech.
The doctor pressed on her palm.
nouncountable
A tropical tree with a tall, unbranched trunk and a crown of large leaves at the top.
Grammar: Countable: a palm tree.
Patterns
- palm tree
Palms lined the beach.
They sat in the shade of a palm.
verbtransitive
To hide something small in your hand, often to take or show it secretly.
Grammar: Takes an object: palm a coin.
Patterns
- palm something
- palm something off
The magician palmed the card.
He palmed the key and left.
Word forms
| plural | palms |
|---|---|
| third person singular | palms |
| past tense | palmed |
| past participle | palmed |
| -ing form | palming |
Common combinations
- palm tree
- A palm tree stood by the pool.
- sweaty palms
- He had sweaty palms before the interview.
- palm oil
- Palm oil is used in many foods.
- palm of your hand
- She held the bird in the palm of her hand.
Synonyms and how they differ
Opposites
Word family
- palmistry noun
- fortune-telling from the hand
- palmful noun
- as much as a palm can hold
Commonly confused: palm or calm?
palm vs calm
Calm is spelled with a similar sound but means peaceful; palm has the hand or tree meaning.
Practice
She held the tiny frog in the ___ of her hand.
Choose one answer.
The palm is the flat inner part of the hand, so it can hold something small.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “palm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.