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# 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/#m1)

2) (verb) To put handcuffs on someone: The police handcuffed the thief. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/#m2)

3) (verb, informal) To limit someone so they cannot act freely. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/#m3)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/#x1)
- The thief was led away in handcuffs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/#x2)
- The magician escaped from the handcuffs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/#x3)
- The toy police set came with plastic handcuffs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/#x4)
- The new rules handcuffed the team. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/#x5)
- A pair of handcuffs has two cuffs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/#x6)

### 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.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/71-willows-ch12-part2-the-battle-of-toad-hall/6/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «handcuff» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/handcuff/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.