handcuff

English

A pair of standard law enforcement handcuffs.

Etymology

From hand +‎ cuff (“end of shirtsleeve”).[1] Possibly an adaptation of Middle English handcops (“shackles for the hand, handcuffs”), from Old English handcops, from hand + cops, cosp (“fetter, chains”), but due to a lack of continuity (centuries between Old English and the modern term), generally analyzed as a re-invention.[1] Nominal form first appears c. 1591 in the publications of John Florio. Verbal form first appears c. 1649.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈhændˌkʌf/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

handcuff (plural handcuffs)

  2. (rarely singular) One ring of a locking fetter for the hand or one pair.
    Synonyms: manacle, wristlet

Hypernyms

Derived terms

Translations

Handcuffed inmate

Verb

handcuff (third-person singular simple present handcuffs, present participle handcuffing, simple past and past participle handcuffed)

  1. (transitive) To apply handcuffs to someone.
    • 1912, Arthur M. Winfield, The Rover Boys in the Air:
      The sheriff had brought along all the handcuffs necessary, and in a few seconds he had handcuffed Koswell. He threw a pair of the steel bracelets to Dick and another pair to Tom, and the Rovers had the satisfaction of handcuffing Josiah Crabtree and Tad Sobber. Then the sheriff made prisoners of the rest of the crowd […]
    • 2024 September 30, Chelsea Bailey, “‘Take his pulse, he’s blue’: Bodycam footage shows fatal encounter between epileptic Indiana man and first responders”, in CNN‎[1], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 19 December 2025:
      The sheriff’s office released a compilation of bodycam footage Friday from deputies at the scene that shows them handcuffing Earl and pinning him down for more than 20 minutes as he struggles and repeatedly shouts for help.
    • 2025 October 3, Andy Rose, “Arrest of conservative influencer Nick Sortor outside Portland ICE building now under federal investigation”, in CNN‎[2], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 24 December 2025:
      Conservative influencer Nick Sortor is handcuffed Thursday night by a police officer outside an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, a bystander video shows; the video does not show events leading up to the arrest.
  2. (transitive, figuratively) to restrain or restrict.
    Dang, I’m handcuffed by these regulations. I’d like to help but it’d be illegal.
    • 1880, George Bernard Shaw, chapter XVII, in The Irrational Knot:
      After all, since our marriage has proved a childless one, the only reason for our submitting to be handcuffed to one another, now that our hearts are no longer in the arrangement, is gone.
    • 2016 February 20, “Obituary: Antonin Scalia: Always right”, in The Economist‎[3], London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 November 2017:
      If he were a king, as his swagger and opera-singing occasionally suggested, he would stretch the constitution any way he wanted. In fact, as he admitted with a grin, it handcuffed him.

Synonyms

Translations

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “handcuff”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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