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Synonyms

handclasp

American  
[hand-klasp, -klahsp] / ˈhændˌklæsp, -ˌklɑsp /

noun

  1. a gripping of hands by two or more people, as in greeting, parting, making a commitment, or expressing affection.

handclasp British  
/ ˈhændˌklɑːsp /

noun

  1. another word for handshake

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of handclasp

First recorded in 1575–85; hand + clasp

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What matters is the listening, the bearing witness—the quiet handclasp that says, I hear you.

From Slate • May 30, 2017

Samples of his rhyming: Ain't it good when life seems dreary And your hopes about to end, Just to feel the handclasp cheery Of a fine old loyal friend?

From Time Magazine Archive

Even conversions came quietly, with only the exchange of a firm handclasp between minister and convert.

From Time Magazine Archive

But to many a patient, lying scared as she awaits the anesthetist's mask, the most comforting feature is the gentle but firmly reassuring handclasp of Dr. Scudder, the woman who decided to follow family tradition.

From Time Magazine Archive

As he held her hand in the handclasp, he thought, “She’ll be my wife, someday, God and she willin’.”

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.