hands up
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
to surrender or admit defeat
Literally: raising one's hands in the air
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Stand still! Put your hands up!Đứng yên, giơ hai tay lên!
Tatoeba sentence #1542549 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “hands up” mean?
to surrender or admit defeat Literally: raising one's hands in the air
Is “hands up” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.