out of one's hands

prepositional phrase

Out of one's control.

“I wish you weren't going to lose your job, but it's out of my hands: I can't tell them to keep you on.”

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. Out of one's control.

    I wish you weren't going to lose your job, but it's out of my hands: I can't tell them to keep you on.

    1 more example

    Anyone who was fondly thinking that the creation of Great British Railways would get railways out of the hands of politicians, and back into the hands of professionals, is going to be sorely disappointed.

    2025 November 26, Sir Michael Holden, “Good and bad in the Bill”, in RAIL, number 1049, page 15
Cite this entry
APA

out of one's hands. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20one's%20hands

MLA

“out of one's hands.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20one's%20hands. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “out of one's hands,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20one's%20hands.

Source: out of one's hands on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.