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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

have a handle on en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) To understand or grasp.
    • To work efficiently, it's important to have a handle on the procedures involved.
  2. (idiomatic) To be in control of, to have power over.
    • But the other three problems had all grown out of assigning jobs to people he had no handle on. 2003, Tony Hillerman, The Sinister Pig, →ISBN, page 36:
    • We don't have to report to them anymore, but they still have a handle on our Justice Department and the police. 2011, H. Henrietta Stockel, Drumbeats from Mescalero, →ISBN, page 82:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
had a handle on Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
had a handle on Tense=Past lexicographic
has a handle on Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
having a handle on Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Relateds

get a handle on