out of hand

The phrase "out of hand" is an idiom commonly used in English to describe situations that are unmanageable or actions taken without hesitation.

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Definition

B2General

(informal)Uncontrollable or difficult to manage.

Example

The situation at the protest quickly got out of hand.
Her anger was getting out of hand.

B2General

(informal)Done immediately or without any consideration.

Example

He dismissed the idea out of hand.
She accepted the offer out of hand.

Similar

Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "out of hand":

out of control off the rails out of line go overboard out of it out of whack out of one's mind out of joint out of wild out whip hand out of order out of step out of touch hands off out of reach go awry off one's head beyond someone's grasp out of bounds come to hand over one's head have out overplay one's hand out of sorts