handshake

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈhæn(d)ˌʃeɪk/ See IPA manual

Freq #11881

Meanings

1

noun
The act of two people holding and shaking each other's hand as a greeting or to agree on something.

They sealed the deal with a firm handshake.
2

noun
In computing, the exchange of signals between two devices to start communication.

The two computers complete a handshake before transferring data.
3

verb
To greet someone by shaking hands.

The two leaders handshook before the meeting began.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of two people... shake

Word family

Forms handshakes

Derived forms manshake

Etymology

From hand + shake. See the appendix for the history of the gesture itself.

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# handshake

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈhæn(d)ˌʃeɪk/
**Frequency rank:** 11881

## Meanings
1. The act of two people holding and shaking each other's hand as a greeting or to agree on something.
2. In computing, the exchange of signals between two devices to start communication.
3. To greet someone by shaking hands.

## Examples
- They sealed the deal with a firm handshake.
- The two computers complete a handshake before transferring data.
- The two leaders handshook before the meeting began.

## Derived Forms
- manshake

## Etymology
From hand + shake. See the appendix for the history of the gesture itself.

## AI Etymology
Handshake comes from hand + shake. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named elements. In current use, the main senses are “The act of two people holding and shaking each other's hand as a greeting or to agree on something” and “In computing, the exchange of signals between two devices to start communication”.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown