Compound words with HAND

HAND is a hinge word: 5 words make a compound in front of it and 6 make one after it, so it can sit in the middle of a chain and hold two compounds together at once.

Words that go in front of HAND

Each of these makes a compound ending in HAND.

• beforehand — before + hand
• farmhand — farm + hand
• firsthand — first + hand
• offhand — off + hand
• underhand — under + hand

Words that follow HAND

Each of these makes a compound starting with HAND.

• handbag — hand + bag
• handball — hand + ball
• handbook — hand + book
• handgun — hand + gun
• handout — hand + out
• handprint — hand + print

Why HAND joins on both sides

HAND is a body part, a unit of measurement and a verb meaning to pass something along. HANDBAG, HANDWRITING and HANDOUT each use a different sense, which is why so many words will attach to it.

Bridges you can build through HAND

Put any word from the first list in front and any word from the second behind, and you have a three-word chain in which both neighbouring pairs join. Here are some of them.

• BEFORE → HAND → BAG — beforehand and handbag
• FARM → HAND → BALL — farmhand and handball
• FIRST → HAND → BOOK — firsthand and handbook
• OFF → HAND → GUN — offhand and handgun
• UNDER → HAND → OUT — underhand and handout

Play a bridge

KEYSTONE is a free daily puzzle built entirely out of chains like these. You get the two ends and have to fill the two words in the middle. Three bridges a day, no account, no cookies.

Play today's KEYSTONE

Other hinge words

Each of these has a page like this one. There is also an index of all 28.

BACK · BALL · BED · BOARD · BOOK · BREAK · DAY · DOWN · FALL · FIRE · GUN · HEAD · HOUSE · LAND · LIFE · LIGHT · MAN · NIGHT · OFF · OUT · OVER · SHIP · SIDE · SOME · TIME · WAY · WORK