handcuff

[hand-kuhf] /ˈhændˌkʌf/
noun
1.
a ring-shaped metal device that can be locked around a person's wrist, usually one of a pair connected by a short chain or linked bar; shackle:
The police put handcuffs on the suspect.
verb (used with object)
2.
to put handcuffs on.
3.
to restrain or thwart (someone) by or as if by handcuffing:
The amendments handcuffed the committee and prevented further action.
Origin
1635-45; hand + cuff1
Related forms
unhandcuff, verb (used with object)
Examples from the web for handcuff
  • Tech companies handcuff our files to protect against digital pirates.
  • He also said that he had a handcuff key in his pants.
  • We talked with one of the protestors as he watched the police handcuff one of his friends.
  • So saying, they handcuff him, and carry him away to the regiment.
  • It certainly might, but only if credit markets don't handcuff shippers.
  • When suspects turn away or reel, cops or border-security agents can nab and handcuff them.
  • Then he asked them not to handcuff him, and the request was denied.
  • But now the computer is being put to use to figure out a way to build a better handcuff and improve upon the ones in use now.
  • Tiring of these fickle shareholders, funds are starting to handcuff them.
  • They would handcuff and blindfold the prisoners before they left the room.
British Dictionary definitions for handcuff

handcuff

/ˈhændˌkʌf/
verb
1.
(transitive) to put handcuffs on (a person); manacle
noun
2.
(pl) a pair of locking metal rings joined by a short bar or chain for securing prisoners, etc
Word Origin and History for handcuff
n.

1640s as a decorative addition to a sleeve; 1690s as a type of restraining device, from hand (n.) + cuff (n.). Old English had hondcops "a pair of hand cuffs," but the modern word is a re-invention. The verb is first attested 1720. Related: Handcuffed; handcuffing.