on hand
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English *onhande, onhende, from Old English onhende (“on hand, demanding attention”), from Proto-Germanic *anahandijaz. Equivalent to on- + hand. Cognate with Icelandic áhendur (“within reach”). Compare offhand.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Prepositional phrase edit
- (idiomatic) Available; ready; in stock.
- If you have cornstarch on hand, use it; otherwise, try a little flour.
- 1950 February, “Crewe Divisional Control Room”, in Railway Magazine, page 115:
- Freight rolling stock distribution is the concern of a section in the office. The clerk in charge of this section receives bulk returns from the districts at regular intervals of wagons on hand and wagon requirements.
- 2011 September 29, Tom Rostance, “Stoke 2 - 1 Besiktas”, in BBC Sport[1]:
- Rustu failed to collect a Whitehead corner, Shawcross saw his effort blocked and Crouch was on hand to bundle over the line from three yards out.
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