Hand over means to give something to another person, often because you have to or someone asks you to: hand over your passport. At work, people hand over tasks and responsibility: hand over a project to a colleague. In a presentation, I'll now hand over to Anna means you are giving the floor to Anna.
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hand over + thing (to + person); hand it over; hand over to + person; hand over + project/responsibility
- At the border, we handed over our passports and waited in the car.
- Before my holiday, I handed over my projects to a colleague and left her detailed notes.
- That's all from me, so I'll now hand over to Anna, who will present the results.
What changed
First versionI'll now pass the word to my colleague Anna.
RevisionI'll now hand over to my colleague Anna.
“Pass the word” means something else: to pass on a message so that everyone hears it. When a speaker gives the next person their turn, use “hand over to” + name: I'll now hand over to Anna.
“Hand over” and “take over” describe the same handover from two sides: one person gives, the other receives. I handed over the project to Sam, and he took over on Monday. At the table, “hand over” doesn't fit; to ask for the salt, use “pass”: Could you pass the salt?
Your turn
On his last day at the company, Tom ___ his laptop and office keys to his manager.
Show the answer
handed over — Tom gave his laptop and keys to one person, his manager, because he was leaving the company: “handed over”. “Handed out” means to give things to several people, such as leaflets or assignments.
You are going on holiday. Write to a colleague saying which task you are handing over and what needs to be done first.
Before I go on holiday, I'm handing over the client newsletter to you, and the first thing to do is send the October issue on Monday.
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