handsy
Americanadjective
-
tending to touch people with the hands, especially in an inappropriate or sexual way.
She saw that he was getting handsy with some of the female guests.
-
(in golf, baseball, etc.) characterized by excessive hand and wrist movement.
a handsy swing.
Other Word Forms
- handsiness noun
Etymology
Origin of handsy
First recorded in 1960–65; either hands ( def. ) + -y 1 ( def. ), or hand ( def. ) + -sy ( def. )
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.
It’s fraught enough to try such a handsy, dangerous, co-dependent activity with a friend or sibling.
But there are plenty of others around the penthouse restaurant they’ve chosen for this outing: A shifty couple on a blind date, an overly sweet bartender, a handsy piano player and a skulking man who’s “waiting for his sister.”
From Salon
The “Brutalist” actor previously described Spacey as a “handsy guy” in a 2018 interview.
From Salon
It started with safety Ramon Henderson tackling a player out of bounds before cornerback Jaylin Davies committed pass interference on back-to-back plays that Foster described as “a little too handsy.”
From Los Angeles Times
In a clip that has been circulating on social media, students can be heard calling out "Beetlejuice" at Boebert, in reference to her handsy, vape-plumed wild night at the theater in Colorado last year.
From Salon
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.
