hat in hand
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
showing respect or humility, often in a submissive manner
Literally: holding a hat in one's hand
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
He went to his boss's office hat in hand to apologize for his mistake
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
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 “hat in hand” mean?
showing respect or humility, often in a submissive manner Literally: holding a hat in one's hand
Is “hat in hand” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.