Hand out or handout?
hand out is a verb meaning “To distribute; to give out, either by hand or as if so (figuratively)”; handout is a noun meaning “An act of handing out something”. Use hand out as a verb and handout as a noun (hand out is also a noun: “A player to whom a ball is served”). hand out is written as two words and handout as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between hand out and handout?
| hand out | handout | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb, phrase, noun | noun, adjective |
| Meaning | To distribute; to give out, either by hand or as if so (figuratively) To help (someone) from a vehicle A player to whom a ball is served | An act of handing out something A printed sheet such as a leaflet or pamphlet, or a worksheet, that is given out free of charge (usually by hand) for a certain use, for example as an… Of a thing: given out free of charge, usually by hand |
| Example | Near-synonyms: give out, pass out, send out | none recorded |
| Forms | none | handouts |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhændaʊt/ /ˈhændˌaʊt/ | /ˈhændaʊt/ /ˈhændˌaʊt/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 1.0 times per million words |
Sources: hand out and handout 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 out and handout
hand out
- 1
To distribute; to give out, either by hand or as if so (figuratively)
Near-synonyms: give out, pass out, send out
- 2
slanga player is out
- 3
A player to whom a ball is served
- 4
To help (someone) from a vehicle
- 5
Alternative form of handout
- 6
slangTo try to impress (someone) with deceptions
handout
- 1
An act of handing out something
- 2
Of a thing: given out free of charge, usually by hand
- 3
A printed sheet such as a leaflet or pamphlet, or a worksheet, that is given out free of charge (usually by hand) for a certain use, for example as an advertisement or for information
- 4
Of or pertaining to the giving of handouts (gifts of money or material assistance, printed sheets, etc.)
- 5
Synonym of press release (“an official written statement that is sent to the media so that it can be publicized”)
- 6
derogatoryinformalA gift of money or material assistance to the needy or poor
- 7
derogatoryinformalSomething obtained without effort; a gift, a present
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 out or handout?
hand out is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; handout 1.0 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search hand out vs handout?
“hand out vs handout” is searched about 10 times a month on Bing (Google reports it together with close variants, so it has no figure of its own) in the United States.
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.