lay hands on en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To find, obtain, or procure.
What luck, right when I'd laid my hands on flight coupons; had my checkbook in the black!
2008, Sean Miller, Shveta Verma, Riffing on Strings: Creative Writing Inspired by String Theory, page 111:After a long trial at which the Crown brought forward every right-wing bigot and crackpot psychiatrist they could lay hands on, The Body Politic was acquitted.
1981 February 14, Alexander Wilson, “The New Right Attacks Childhood Sexuality: A Canadian Perspective”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 29, page 6:If we can lay hands on some chicken wire and a black light, we can make some scary Halloween decorations.
- (idiomatic) To seize or assault.
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lay, hands.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| laying hands on | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| lays hands on | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| laid hands on | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| laid hands on | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| lay one's hands on | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
laying on of hands · lay on hands
Synonyms
get one's hands on · get hold of
Translations (2)
it mettere mano a (to obtain or procure) · fi saada käsiinsä (to obtain or procure)