Hand-held or handheld?
hand-held is an adjective meaning “Held in one or both hands”; handheld is an adjective meaning “Alternative form of hand-held”. hand-held is written with a hyphen and handheld as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between hand-held and handheld?
| hand-held | handheld | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, noun | adjective, noun |
| Meaning | Held in one or both hands Small and light enough to be operated while held in one or both hands A personal digital assistant or video game console that is small enough to be held in the hands | Alternative form of hand-held |
| Example | He filmed the scene with a hand-held camera | none recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhændˌhɛld/ | not recorded |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 2.3 times per million words |
Sources: hand-held and handheld in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of hand-held and handheld
hand-held
- 1
Held in one or both hands
He filmed the scene with a hand-held camera
- 2
A personal digital assistant or video game console that is small enough to be held in the hands
Near-synonyms: handheld console, hand-portable
- 3
Small and light enough to be operated while held in one or both hands
This device is small and hand-held, perfect for travel
- 4
A snack food that is held in the hands while eating
We offer sandwiches, tacos, and other hand-helds
handheld
- 1
Alternative form of hand-held
- 2
Alternative form of hand-held
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, hand-held or handheld?
hand-held is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; handheld 2.3 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).