noun
handcuff
HAND-kuhf
noun
1
One of a pair of metal rings, usually joined by a chain, used to restrain a person's wrists.
"The officer slipped a handcuff onto the suspect's wrist."
verb
1
To put handcuffs on someone, or figuratively, to severely restrict someone's freedom of action.
"Regulations have handcuffed small businesses trying to expand."
Word Forms
handcuffed past tense, handcuffs plural, handcuffs singular
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The officer slipped a _____ onto the suspect's wrist.
Etymology
From hand + cuff, likely a reinvention of an older Old English compound with a similar meaning, since the word disappears from records for centuries before resurfacing.