hand down

verb

handed down; handing down; hands down

transitive verb

1

: to transmit in succession (as from father to son)

2

: to make official formulation of and express (the opinion of a court)

Examples of hand down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The indictment, handed down by a grand jury at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, was filed Jan. 9 and unsealed Friday. —Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025

While a new phone can be expensive, handing down your old iPhone is a great way to introduce them to technology while also being mindful of your budget. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 17 Jan. 2025

And when compared with driving, air travel is hands down the safer way to get from point A to point B. —Barbara Peterson, AFAR Media, 17 Jan. 2025

Research has shown that judges who have backgrounds as public defenders tend to hand down less punitive sentences and incarcerate fewer people, a fact that criminal justice reform advocates have been stressing in their praise of Biden's judicial picks. —Cooper Burton, ABC News, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hand down

verb

1

: to pass down from older to younger (as from parent to child)

2

: to form and express a judicial decision

Legal Definition

hand down

transitive verb

1

: to deliver (the decision or opinion of an appellate court) to the proper office of an inferior court

2

: to make an official formulation of and announce (the decision of a court)