Hand down means to pass something (an object, knowledge, a tradition) on to the next generation or to younger people, and also to deliver a sentence or court decision. The first meaning is about family: recipes, jewellery, clothes passed from older children to younger ones. The second appears in the news: the judge handed down a sentence.
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hand down + thing + to + person; hand something down; be handed down (from + person); hand down a sentence
- My grandmother handed down her apple pie recipe to my mum, and now I bake it too.
- As the youngest child, I wore clothes that my older sisters had handed down.
- The judge handed down a two-year sentence for the robbery.
What changed
First versionMy grandmother handed down me this ring.
RevisionMy grandmother handed down this ring to me.
With hand down, the person who receives something is introduced with to: handed down this ring to me. It's tempting to put me straight after the verb, as in gave me the ring, but hand down doesn't work that way.
Hand over means to give something right now, often because it's demanded or part of a job: Hand over the keys. Hand down means to pass something on, from older to younger or from generation to generation: This watch was handed down from my great-grandfather.
Your turn
My brother's feet grew too big for his winter boots, so he ___ his old pair to me.
Show the answer
handed down — The older brother grew out of his boots and gave them to his younger sibling: passing things from older to younger is handed down. Hand in means to give work or documents to a teacher or boss, not to give something to your brother.
Describe an object or habit that came to you from older relatives. Say what it is and who it came from.
My father handed down his old guitar to me when I was twelve, and I still play it.
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