hand-hold

See also: handhold

English

Alternative forms

• handhold

Verb

hand-hold (third-person singular simple present hand-holds, present participle hand-holding, simple past and past participle hand-held)

1. (transitive) To hold in the hand.

   You can hand-hold many professional cameras, but using a tripod may be a better idea.

2. (transitive, figuratively) To watch or attend unnecessarily closely (as if holding a child's hand to lead it along).

   I'm sick of having to hand-hold every new person we hire. Why can't we train them first?

Synonyms

• (watch or attend unnecessarily closely): babysit