hand over hand

Meanings

adverbhand over hand (not comparable)

not comparablenauticalby passing the hands alternately one before or above the other, especially with rope
Max went up the rigging hand over hand, and brought his red head with a bump against the base of Harry’s back.
1849, Herman Melville, “chapter 50”, in Redburn: His First Voyage. […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC
not comparablerapidly
In this way he made money hand over hand; became a rich and mighty man, and exalted his cocked hat upon change.
1824, Washington Irving, The Devil and Tom Walker
1 more example
He was making money, hand over hand, then; and he never stopped speculating and improving till he'd scraped together three or four hundred thousand dollars
1890, William Dean Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes, chapter 11
Synonyms: hand over fist

adverbrapidly

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APA

hand over hand. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hand%20over%20hand

MLA

“hand over hand.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hand%20over%20hand. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hand over hand,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hand%20over%20hand.