come to hand

verb

To become available, often unexpectedly, or randomly.

“The horse came to hand, and won first prize.”

Similar
come to light
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbcome to hand (third-person singular simple present comes to hand, present participle coming to hand, simple past came to hand, past participle come to hand)

present singular third person comes to hand · participle present coming to hand · past came to hand

  1. To become available, often unexpectedly, or randomly.

    She fought off the intruder with whatever came to hand.

    1 more example

    Secondly, I continue to base my concepts on intensive study of a limited suite of collections, rather than superficial study of every packet that comes to hand.

    1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii
  2. UShobbiesTo perform well, to come under control.

    The horse came to hand, and won first prize.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbbe revealed or disclosed

Similar
come to light
Broader
appear
Also see
come to light

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

come to hand. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20hand

MLA

“come to hand.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20hand. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come to hand,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20hand.

Source: come to hand on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.