handover
/ˈhændˌoʊvɚ/noun
handover is spelled H-A-N-D-O-V-E-R: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,418th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “hand-over vs handover” about 10 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, handover means “The transference of authority, control, power or knowledge from one agency to another, or from one state to another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of handover is handovers.
How many letters and syllables are in handover?
| Letters | 8: H-A-N-D-O-V-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,418th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Same letters |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is handover?
Handover appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,418th 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 handover?
- US /ˈhændˌoʊvɚ/
Handover 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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-handover.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with handover
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: hand-over (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with handover?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as handover (/ændoʊvəɹ/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: overhand.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of handover
- handovers plural
- hand-over
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does handover mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The transference of authority, control, power or knowledge from one agency to another, or from one state to another.
- 2
The information passed on in such a case.
The daytime team got an urgent handover from the afterhours department.
- 3
the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another channel.
- 4
the process of transferring satellite control responsibility from one earth station to another without loss or interruption of service.
- 5
The transfer of goods from the dealer to the purchaser, often of illegal goods.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Handover in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense transference of authority:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | passation, rétrocession |
| German | Übergabe |
| Spanish | traspaso |
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 handover come from?
Deverbal from hand over.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).