hands-off

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
hand/hand/

▶noun

• 1 the end part of the arm beyond the wrist, including the palm, fingers, and thumb.

  ■ [as modifier] operated by or held in the hand.

  ■ [as modifier or in combination] done or made manually.

• 2 a pointer on a clock or watch indicating the passing of units of time.

• 3 (hands) with reference to someone's power or control: taking the law into their own hands.

  ■ (usu. a hand) an active role.

  ■ (usu. a hand) help in doing something.

• 4 a manual worker, especially in a factory, on a farm, or on board a ship.

• 5 informal a round of applause: his fans gave him a big hand.

• 6 the set of cards dealt to a player in a card game.

  ■ a round or short spell of play in a card game.

• 7 a person's handwriting.

• 8 a unit of measurement of a horse's height, equal to 4 inches (10.16 cm).

  ■ [denoting the breadth of a hand.]

• 9 a pledge of marriage by a woman.

▶verb

• 1 pick (something) up and give it to (someone).

• 2 hold the hand of, in order to guide or assist.

• 3 Sailing take in or furl (a sail).

– phrases
at hand

• 1 close by; readily accessible.

• 2 close in time; about to happen.

at (or by) the hands (or hand) of through the agency of.
by hand by a person and not a machine.
get (or keep) one's hand in become (or remain) practised in something.
give (or lend) a hand assist.
hand in glove in close collusion or association.
hand in hand closely associated; together.
(from) hand to mouth satisfying only one's immediate needs because of lack of money.
hands down easily and decisively.
hands-off not involving or requiring direct intervention.
hands-on involving or offering active participation.
a hand's turn [usu. with neg.] informal a stroke of work.
have one's hands tied informal be unable to act freely.
have to hand it to someone informal have to acknowledge someone's merit or achievement.
in hand

• 1 in progress; requiring immediate attention.

• 2 ready for use if required.

• 3 under one's control.

  ■ (of land) farmed directly by its owner and not let to tenants.

in safe hands protected by someone trustworthy from harm.
make (or lose or spend) money hand over fist informal make (or lose or spend) money very rapidly.
off one's hands not having to be dealt with.
on every hand all around.
on hand

• 1 present and available.

• 2 needing to be dealt with.

on one's hands

• 1 under one's responsibility.

• 2 at one's disposal.

on the one (or the other) hand used to present factors for (and against).
out of hand

• 1 not under control.

• 2 without taking time to think: they rejected negotiations out of hand.

a safe pair of hands someone who is capable or reliable.
set (or put) one's hand to start work on.
stay someone's hand restrain someone from acting.
take a hand become influential; intervene: fate was about to take a hand.
to hand within easy reach.
turn one's hand to undertake (an activity different from one's usual occupation).
wait on someone hand and foot attend to all someone's needs or requests, especially when unreasonable.

– phrasal verbs
hand something down

• 1 pass something on to a successor.

• 2 announce something, especially a judgement, formally or publicly.

hand someone off Rugby push away a tackling opponent with one's hand.
hand something on pass something to the next person.
hand something out

• 1 distribute something among a group.

• 2 impose a penalty or misfortune on someone.

hand over pass to someone else.
hand something round (or around) offer something to each of a number of people in turn.

– derivatives
handless adjective.

– origin OE hand, hond, of Gmc origin.