hand to hand
Within arm's reach
Hand to hand describes combat or fighting at close quarters, where opponents can physically touch each other—grappling, punching, using knives or bayonets rather than ranged weapons: The battle devolved into hand-to-hand fighting.
The phrase can also describe direct transfer between people: The package passed hand to hand until it reached her.
- combatArmed hostile engagement
- meleeDisordered group skirmish
- close quartersRestricted space, minimal distance
- closeNearby or to shut
- fightingEngaging in physical conflict
street fight · grappling · fist · bare knuckle · brawl · struggle · martial · martial arts · unarmed · grapple · clinch · wrestling · scuffle · punch · kick · block · strike · parry
- combat rangeclose range, short range, medium range, long range, point blank
- infantry tacticsfire and maneuver, flanking maneuver, battle drills, defensive positions, ambush tactics
- action filmschase scene, car chase, explosion, stunt, shootout
- unarmedweaponless, fists, unarmed combat, disarmed, martial arts
- combat tacticsflanking, ambush, feint, skirmish, firefight
- AcroYogaflyer, base, spotter, whale, star pose
hand to handranged
Extended across distances
long-range · from afar · aerial · artillery · missile
hand to handremote
Distant or controller
at arm's length · indirect · impersonal · intermediated · mediated
hand, hands, handed, handing, handy, handily, handiness, handful, handfuls