hand over — give control or possession
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to give someone else control of something, or to give them something you are holding or responsible for.
Say it like a native
Textbook Please relinquish the documents to the officer.
Native Just hand the documents over to the officer.
'Hand over' is the natural verb for passing something to someone; 'relinquish' is formal/legal.
Pattern: hand over [something] (to [someone])
In use
- The police officer asked him to hand over his driver's license.daily life
- In my previous job, I had to hand over all my responsibilities to a new colleague before I left the company.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He handed the keys over me.
✓ He handed the keys over to me.
The recipient needs 'to' — 'hand it over TO someone'.
Common collocations
hand over + thing— the keys, the money, your phone, the documents
Don't confuse it
'Hand in' means to submit something (like homework), while 'hand over' is about giving control or possession, often to another person or authority.