hand out — distribute
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to give something to each person in a group, usually by passing it to them one by one.
Say it like a native
Textbook Please distribute these documents to all attendees.
Native Can you hand these out to everyone?
'Hand out' is the everyday word for passing things round; 'distribute to attendees' is formal.
Pattern: hand out [something] (to [someone])
In use
- The teacher handed out the test papers to the students.daily life
- In my school, teachers often hand out worksheets at the beginning of each lesson to help us follow along.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ She handed out us the papers.
✓ She handed out the papers to us. / handed us the papers.
'Hand out' + the thing; the recipient takes 'to' ('hand them out to us').
Common collocations
hand out + items— leaflets, flyers, copies, free samples
Don't confuse it
Do not confuse with 'hand in', which means to submit something.