SHOW OF HANDS Definition & Meaning

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show of hands

noun

an indication of approval, disapproval, volunteering, etc., on the part of a group of people, usually made by each assenting person raising a hand.

show of hands

noun

the raising of hands to indicate voting for or against a proposition

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of show of hands¹

First recorded in 1740–50

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Idioms and Phrases

An informal vote made by participants holding up one hand each to indicate a choice, as in Let's have a show of hands—how many want the next meeting on a Sunday? [Late 1700s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

So, let’s have a show of hands: How many readers who have children allowed them to sleep overnight someplace where all they had was a thin mat laid on a concrete floor, and the lights were left on all night?

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A resolution to approve Reform UK’s new constitution was passed by a show of hands at the party’s conference in Birmingham.

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“Colonel, we asked for a show of hands, and we’ve decided not to take that hill.”

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All of the candidates, in a show of hands, said they believed Trump was the rightful winner of Georgia’s 16 electoral votes in 2020, despite no reliable evidence to contradict Democrat Joe Biden’s win.

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Then the judge will excuse any people who indicate by a show of hands that they can’t serve or can’t be fair and impartial, he wrote.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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