handcuff

«handcuff» in Mova's school dictionary: Two metal rings joined by a chain that police lock round… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (handcuffs — plural; a pair of handcuffs); verb (handcuff, handcuffs, handcuffed, handcuffing)

meaning for a pupil

1) (noun, usually plural) Two metal rings joined by a chain that police lock round a prisoner's wrists. tree →

2) (verb) To put handcuffs on someone: The police handcuffed the thief. tree →

3) (verb, informal) To limit someone so they cannot act freely. tree →

sense in the lessons

In crime stories and news police handcuff suspects; in everyday talk a rule can «handcuff» you, meaning tie your hands. Phrases: «a pair of handcuffs», «in handcuffs», «be handcuffed».

examples

• The police officer handcuffed the robber. tree →
• The thief was led away in handcuffs. tree →
• The magician escaped from the handcuffs. tree →
• The toy police set came with plastic handcuffs. tree →
• The new rules handcuffed the team. tree →
• A pair of handcuffs has two cuffs. tree →

note

The noun is normally plural: «handcuffs», «a pair of handcuffs». Informal short form: «cuffs». Regular verb.

In the corpora

• In five minutes the hall is empty except for about a dozen weasels lying on the floor, whom Mole handcuffs.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «handcuff» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.