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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Advertisement In October, the Board of State and Community Corrections found that Viera Rosa had failed to get a handle on the staffing crisis and that Los Padrinos was no longer safe for youths. —

Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024 For an insightful look at the drink’s complicated history, read Wayne Curtis’ And A Bottle of Rum, but the best way to get a handle on the many styles is to taste them. —

Sofia Perez, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024 The trade group is now tracking the issue through other means and working to get a handle on the specifics of the problem. —

Evan Clark, WWD, 22 Nov. 2024 Tucked into a green-sounding federal recycling bill filed last month is a wish list, not of tough new mandates to get a handle on the world’s plastic’s crisis, but of regulatory rollbacks and government assistance that would boost the plastics industry. —

Lisa Song, ProPublica, 23 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for get/have a handle on

Dictionary Entries Near get/have a handle on

get/go back to (the) basics

get/have a handle on

get/have a line on

See More Nearby Entries

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“Get/have a handle on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%2Fhave%20a%20handle%20on. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

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