From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhand something ↔ back phrasal verb1 GIVEto give something back to the person who gave it to you, with your hand to Kurt examined the document and handed it back to her.hand somebody something ↔ back She handed him his pen back.2 GIVEto give something back to the person who used to own it to The land was handed back to its original owner.hand somebody something ↔ back The government has promised to hand investors back their money. → hand→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
hand back• Firebug said, handing the packages back.• The soldier looked at my swollen hand and then back at my face.• I hand her back her purse.• For a while she stood next to the coal stove and warmed her hands on the backs of her legs.• And Parker's hands at the back of his head.• Her hands held the back of his neck, then loosened, and she turned on to her stomach but not in retreat.• Jeremy murmurs sympathetically and hands her back the joint.• After a few minutes Rose handed the paper back to him. 