handing down
Giving to successors
Handing down is passing something from one generation or authority to the next.
Parents hand down traditions, recipes, or heirlooms to their children: This ring has been handed down for five generations.
Courts hand down decisions or sentences, conveying judgment from above: The judge handed down a life sentence.
The phrase implies vertical transfer—from older to younger, higher to lower.
- pass onTransmit to another
- passing the torchTransferring responsibility to another
- conveyCommunicate or transport
- bequeathTransfer by will
- transmitTo send onward
inherit · ruling · court ruling · oral traditions · oral history · old wives' tale · decree · mentoring · bestow · heirloom · verdict · folklore · next generation · apprenticeship · gift · storytelling · precedent · wisdom
handing downpassing up
Choosing to forgo
inheriting · receiving · ascending · escalating · coming into
handing downkeeping
Holding in custody
retaining · withholding · hoarding · clutching · monopolizing
handing downbreaking with tradition
discontinuing · innovating · originating · starting fresh · inventing
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