handholding
noun, adjective
handholding is spelled H-A-N-D-H-O-L-D-I-N-G: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 24 million words in written English, the 148,541st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, handholding means “The holding of hands” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of handholding is handholdings.
How many letters and syllables are in handholding?
| Letters | 11: H-A-N-D-H-O-L-D-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 24 million words; the 148,541st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is handholding?
Handholding appears about once in every 24 million words in written English, the 148,541st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce handholding?
Handholding has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of handholding
- handholdings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does handholding mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The holding of hands.
- 2
Strong personal support or reassurance.
adjective
- 1
Holding hands.
- 2
Deeply and ostentatiously in love.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does handholding come from?
From hand + holding.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).