Meanings
adjectivehand-to-hand (not comparable)
- not comparableEspecially, describing fighting (armed or unarmed) done within reach rather than at range.
soldiers trained in hand-to-hand combat
1 more example
Hemingway's subject for the epilogue was the mano a mano (or hand-to-hand, a duel) between Spain's two leading matadors, Luis Miguel Dominguin and his brother-in-law, Antonio Ordonez.
1985 June 9, William Kennedy, “The Last Ole”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 Oct 2020
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivebeing at close quarters
Similar
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Ancient Greek αὐτοσχεδόν, ἀγχιμαχητής
- αὐτοσχεδόν (autoskhedón)fighting done within reach rather than at range
- ἀγχιμαχητής (ankhimakhētḗs)fighting done within reach rather than at range
- ἀγχέμαχος (ankhémakhos)fighting done within reach rather than at range
Chinese Mandarin 肉搏, 肉薄
- 肉搏 (ròubó)fighting done within reach rather than at range
- 肉薄 (ròubó)fighting done within reach rather than at range
Finnish lähi-
- lähi-fighting done within reach rather than at range
French corps à corps
- corps à corpsfighting done within reach rather than at range
Italian corpo a corpo, all'arma bianca
- corpo a corpofighting done within reach rather than at range
- all'arma biancafighting done within reach rather than at range
Māori taumātakitahi, tautakitahi
- taumātakitahifighting done within reach rather than at range
- tautakitahifighting done within reach rather than at range
- tautaumātakitahifighting done within reach rather than at range
Polish wręcz
- wręczfighting done within reach rather than at range
Portuguese corpo a corpo
- corpo a corpofighting done within reach rather than at range
Spanish cuerpo a cuerpo, a cuerpo
- cuerpo a cuerpofighting done within reach rather than at range
- a cuerpofighting done within reach rather than at range
Tagalog mano-mano
- mano-manofighting done within reach rather than at range
Cite this entry
APA
hand-to-hand. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hand-to-hand
MLA
“hand-to-hand.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hand-to-hand. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hand-to-hand,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hand-to-hand.
Source: hand-to-hand on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.