join hands

English

Verb

join hands (third-person singular simple present joins hands, present participle joining hands, simple past and past participle joined hands)

1. (intransitive) To hold hands (to clasp each other's hands).
2. (intransitive, idiomatic) To work together to achieve a common goal.

   Synonym: join forces

   • 2023 August 7, Mia Malan, “A pandemic is not just a disease – it’s a political, social and economic crisis fuelled by inequality”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     To get the government to change its policy of not providing antiretroviral treatment in the late 1990s and early 2000s, lawyers, scientists, doctors, economists, journalists and communities of people living with HIV joined hands to stand up to the state.

Further reading

• “join hands”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “join hands”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.