get/have a handle on
idiom
informal
: to understand and be able to deal with (something)
I can't quite get a handle on the way this machine works.
It seemed like she had a good handle on the situation.
Examples of get/have a handle on in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bitcoin and crypto market analysts are scrambling to get a handle on the bitcoin price decline and predict how much lower the bitcoin price and crypto market might crash.
—
Billy Bambrough, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Health officials — who are scrambling to get a handle on the vaccine-preventable outbreak — suspect 200 to 300 people in West Texas are infected but untested, and therefore not part of the state’s official tally so far.
—Erika Edwards, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2025
Yet after the credits rolled, I was left with a nagging feeling that these individual speeches still hold said power more than the actual film, which doesn’t always quite have a handle on how to harness the full potential of what these teens have to say.
—David Opie, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2025
Some evacuation orders and warnings were downgraded Thursday as crews began to get a handle on the blaze.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for get/have a handle on
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Billy Bambrough, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Health officials — who are scrambling to get a handle on the vaccine-preventable outbreak — suspect 200 to 300 people in West Texas are infected but untested, and therefore not part of the state’s official tally so far.
—Erika Edwards, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2025
Yet after the credits rolled, I was left with a nagging feeling that these individual speeches still hold said power more than the actual film, which doesn’t always quite have a handle on how to harness the full potential of what these teens have to say.
—David Opie, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2025
Some evacuation orders and warnings were downgraded Thursday as crews began to get a handle on the blaze.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for get/have a handle on
Cite this Entry
“Get/have a handle on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%2Fhave%20a%20handle%20on. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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