to take in hand
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To undertake to do some- thing; to take the charge of. To take something off one's hands. To relieve one of something troublesome.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to take in hand” mean?
To undertake to do some- thing; to take the charge of. To take something off one's hands. To relieve one of something troublesome.
Is “to take in hand” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.