Meanings
verbhave one's hands tied (third-person singular simple present has one's hands tied, present participle having one's hands tied, simple past and past participle had one's hands tied)
present singular third person has one's hands tied · participle present having one's hands tied · participle past had one's hands tied · past had one's hands tied
- idiomaticinformalTo be powerless to act, to be thwarted.
I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. My hands are tied.
Translations
French avoir les mains liées
- avoir les mains liéesbe powerless to act
Greek δένω τα χέρια
- δένω τα χέρια (déno ta chéria)be powerless to act
Hungarian meg van kötve a keze
- meg van kötve a kezebe powerless to act
Icelandic vera bundinn í báða skó
- vera bundinn í báða skóbe powerless to act
Turkish eli kolu bağlı olmak
- eli kolu bağlı olmakbe powerless to act
Cite this entry
APA
have one's hands tied. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20one's%20hands%20tied
MLA
“have one's hands tied.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20one's%20hands%20tied. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “have one's hands tied,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20one's%20hands%20tied.
Source: have one's hands tied on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.