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PlainSpell

hand off

verb

hand off is a verb meaning “To pass (the ball) to a teammate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled H-A-N-D-O-F-F.

What does hand off mean?

verb

  1. 1

    To pass (the ball) to a teammate.

  2. 2

    To pass or transfer.

    Before we hand off the project to him, let's make sure to write some instructions.

noun

as hand-off
  1. 1

    A pass made in a backward direction.

  2. 2

    The transfer of the radar identification of an aircraft from one controller to another when the aircraft enters the receiving controller's airspace and radio communications with the aircraft are transferred.

  3. 3

    The passing of a completed project to another person or group.

  4. 4

    The act of pushing an opponent away with an open hand.

  5. 5

    The transfer of control to another subsystem.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you pronounce hand off?

  • Australia

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-hand_off.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of hand off

  • hands off present, singular, he/she/it
  • handing off participle, present
  • handed off participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Words people confuse with hand off

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

hand-off vs handoff40 G

Also written: handoff (one word or two).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Hand off in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

In the sense to pass or transfer:

LanguageWords
Frenchpasser, transférer
Portuguesepassar, transferir

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does hand off come from?

Deverbal from hand off.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).