From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhandyhand‧y /ˈhændi/ ●●○ S3 adjective (comparative handier, superlative handiest) 1 USEFULuseful It’s quite a handy little tool. It’s very handy having a light above your desk. Take your swimming trunks with you – they might come in handy (=be useful).► see thesaurus at useful2 informalCONVENIENT near and easy to reach I always keep my gun handy just in case. Do you have a piece of paper handy?handy for British English The house was in Drury Lane, very handy for the theatre.3 GOOD ATgood at using something, especially a toolhandy with He’s very handy with a screwdriver.
Examples from the Corpus
handy• Detecting suspicious activity in the community is where the bike patrol agents come in handy.• Add a rail to keep kitchen equipment handy.• Make sure you keep your passport and ticket handy.• They should become handier about the house and less concerned with work.• A lot of people in the States have a gun handy at night and when they travel.• This handy booklet tells you everything you need to know about getting connected to the Internet.• He tied the reins to a handy bush and followed the sound of Blondel's voice.• a handy chart for converting pounds into kilos• There's a handy cup holder under the car radio.• A handy ditty when competing with other firms.• There's a special brush you can attach to the vacuum cleaner, which is handy for cleaning the stairs.• Many fruit juices are now available in handy little cartons.• This command centre is handy to use for your own files and is great when you're designing applications at work.• It's a handy way of keeping a record of your spending.• What I was about to learn, however, is that the poem was equally handy when competing within Salomon Brothers.come in handy• You would have come in handy.• And both of these were to come in handy.• Detecting suspicious activity in the community is where the bike patrol agents come in handy.• A unifying influence Of course, while the money comes in handy, brands can have another important function for regions.• The fans would have come in handy during the humid weather over the last few days.• The hardware comes in handy, especially the kris.• A hacksaw always comes in handy for cutting plastic pipes.• Uncertain how the children might react, I thought it would perhaps come in handy if I needed to defend myself.• I had organised two more fallback packages that would come in handy now.• I'm saving the memo - it might come in handy someday.• My knowledge of Spanish came in handy when the car broke down near Madrid.have ... handy• Laturno and Goldman always have travel itineraries handy.• Neither oor Joy nor me have ever been handy.• You would have come in handy.• The fans would have come in handy during the humid weather over the last few days.• The water is likely to be spilled, have a cloth handy to wipe up any mess.handy with• He's handy with a screwdriver.From Longman Business Dictionaryhandyhand‧y /ˈhændi/ adjective used to describe things that are easy to use or carry, especially because they are small and lighta detergent in a handy 100 ml tube 