get/have a handle on

idiom

informal

: to understand and be able to deal with (something)

I can't quite get a handle on the way this machine works.

It seemed like she had a good handle on the situation.

Examples of get/have a handle on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The trade group is now tracking the issue through other means and working to get a handle on the specifics of the problem. —

Evan Clark, WWD, 22 Nov. 2024 Tucked into a green-sounding federal recycling bill filed last month is a wish list, not of tough new mandates to get a handle on the world’s plastic’s crisis, but of regulatory rollbacks and government assistance that would boost the plastics industry. —

Lisa Song, ProPublica, 23 Oct. 2024 Some light winds were expected into Tuesday, which will provide another hurdle for firefighters trying to get a handle on the Line blaze. —

Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2024 Election Day is just days away and of all the critical issues at stake, there is one that has a fast-approaching deadline to get a handle on: climate change. —

Li Cohen, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for get/have a handle on

Dictionary Entries Near get/have a handle on

get/go back to (the) basics

get/have a handle on

get/have a line on

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

“Get/have a handle on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%2Fhave%20a%20handle%20on. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation