handshake means the grasping of hands by two people when greeting, leave-taking, or making an agreement.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, handshake ranks #7,460 of 14,414 for Most Elegant Words.
handshake is pronounced /ˈhæn(d)ˌʃeɪk/.
Why “handshake” is a great word
A ritual gesture of greeting, agreement, or farewell, executed by grasping and typically shaking another person's right hand. From hand (the terminal part of the human arm) + shake (an act of shaking), first attested in 1801. Unlike a "handclasp" (which emphasizes a prolonged, static grip) or a general "greeting" (which may be verbal or distant), a handshake is a formalized, kinetic compact. It is the brisk, dry grip that seals a deal; the cold palm of a nervous job applicant; the firm, mutual jolt that reconciles old friends—the body's small, persistent vow to meet halfway, a fleeting architecture of trust built and dismantled in the same motion.
Etymology
From hand + shake. See the appendix for the history of the gesture itself.
noun
- The grasping of hands by two people when greeting, leave-taking, or making an agreement.“Eccles' handshake, eager and practiced and hard, seems to symbolize for him an embrace. For an instant Rabbit fears he will never let go.”
- An exchange of signals between two devices when communications begin in order to ensure synchronization.
verb
- To perform a handshake; to shake hands.
- To perform a handshake with another device.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- abrazo 83% match — A Latin American embrace. vs handshake →
- gesture 82% match — A motion of the limbs or body, especially one made to emphasize speech. vs handshake →
- handfast 82% match — A hold, grasp; custody, power of confining or keeping. vs handshake →
- namaskar 81% match — The use of the greeting in which one puts one's hands together and bows slightly; greeting with a namaste. vs handshake →
- namaste 81% match — A greeting in contexts relating to Indian culture or the New Age movement. vs handshake →
- shaka 81% match — A greeting gesture in which the thumb and little finger are extended while curling the three middle fingers in a semi-fist, used to express a variety of positive meanings including all right, hello and goodbye. vs handshake →
- baisemains 80% match — respects; compliments vs handshake →
- beckon 79% match — To wave or nod to somebody with the intention to make the person come closer. vs handshake →