as in assistance
patient and attentive guidance encouragement, or instruction
New computer users often require a good deal of hand-holding.
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Recent Examples of hand-holding
The math starts to favor hiring an experienced worker who needs less hand-holding.
—
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Beyond the yachts themselves, the yards are working hard to secure younger clients, with more hand-holding during the sale process and build period than ever before.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 2 May 2026
The two played a game of Barrymore Bingo, featuring staple moments that happen in practically every interview, like hand-holding or getting curled up on the couch.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 15 Apr. 2026
The service Don't expect any hand-holding here.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2026
Ratner captures lots of hand-holding, little connection.
—Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2026
And in the sweetest bit of romance so far, Lady Bridgerton herself seems one step closer to acting on her attraction to Lady Danbury's brother Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis), with the two sharing a (scandalous) moment of hand-holding at the ball.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
There are no more smiles and no more hand-holding, only two sad adults.
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026
There’s no spoon-feeding or hand-holding.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Beyond the yachts themselves, the yards are working hard to secure younger clients, with more hand-holding during the sale process and build period than ever before.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 2 May 2026
The two played a game of Barrymore Bingo, featuring staple moments that happen in practically every interview, like hand-holding or getting curled up on the couch.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 15 Apr. 2026
The service Don't expect any hand-holding here.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2026
Ratner captures lots of hand-holding, little connection.
—Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2026
And in the sweetest bit of romance so far, Lady Bridgerton herself seems one step closer to acting on her attraction to Lady Danbury's brother Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis), with the two sharing a (scandalous) moment of hand-holding at the ball.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
There are no more smiles and no more hand-holding, only two sad adults.
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026
There’s no spoon-feeding or hand-holding.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hand-holding
Noun
-
Congressional assistance in the bid to fix college sports could be headed back to the drawing board.—
Fisher Isbell,
AJC.com,
3 June 2026
-
Only one person at a time can occupy a voting booth, unless a voter is accompanied by a child or is eligible to receive assistance, the California Secretary of State’s Office said.—
Angela Rodriguez,
Sacbee.com,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
If Muntadas’s work expands the spectacle of self-exploitation to its wider social implications, Lord’s chapter in Media Hostages, Future Language, redirects this attention to the uninterested spectators passing by the billboard on the road.—
Jonathan Odden,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday reiterated warnings of a possible massive Russian strike and urged residents to pay special attention to air raid alerts.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
No other candidates reached double-digit support, including Democratic San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan with 7%, Democratic former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa with 5% and Democratic Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond with 1%, the poll found.—
John Woolfolk,
Mercury News,
28 May 2026
-
As well as turning to the club’s head of medicine and performance Jonathan Power and psychologist Lee Richardson, Liverpool brought in grief counsellors to ensure there was sufficient support.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
Sunday marked his eighth match with a goal and an assist, tying Clint Dempsey for second-most all-time, according to a USMNT spokesperson.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
1 June 2026
-
Waymo uses custom chips, while Chinese electric car giant BYD last week joined Nio and Xpeng in revealing their own semiconductors for driver-assist systems.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
Da Frisella is a godsend for children, for help-yourself please-all bowls of pasta and plenty of coloring activities.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.—
Ian Cummings,
Kansas City Star,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
On homelessness, Steyer wants to expand interim housing options and homeless services.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
-
Wire services contributed to this report.—
Jon Becker,
Mercury News,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hand-holding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hand-holding. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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