handle

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• intransitive verb To touch, lift, or hold with the hands.
• intransitive verb To operate with the hands; manipulate.
• intransitive verb To deal with or have responsibility for; conduct.
• intransitive verb To cope with or dispose of.
• intransitive verb To direct, execute, or dispose of.
• intransitive verb To manage, administer to, or represent.
• intransitive verb To deal or trade in the purchase or sale of.
• intransitive verb To act or function in a given way while in operation.
• noun A part that is designed to be held or operated with the hand.
• noun A means of understanding or control.
• noun Slang A person's name.
• noun An alternate name or nickname, especially one chosen for self-identification on online forums or citizens band radio.
• noun Games The total amount of money bet on an event or over a set period of time.
• idiom (handle (oneself)) To conduct oneself in a specified manner.
• idiom (handle (oneself)) To be able to defend oneself or fend for oneself.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun That part of a thing which is intended to be grasped by the hand in using or moving it.
• noun That by means of which anything is done; the instrument of effecting a purpose: said of a person or thing.
• noun In botany, in the Characeæ, same as manubrium.
• To touch or feel with the hand; use the hand or hands upon.
• To manage by hand; use or wield with manual skill; ply; manipulate; act upon or control by the hand: as, to handle one's colors; to handle the reins.
• In general, to manage; direct; control; hold or keep in hand: as, to handle a fish when hooked; to handle a dog in the field; to handle troops in battle.
• To act upon or toward; use in some way (with regard to conduct); treat; deal with.
• To treat of; discourse upon; expound, as a topic.
• To make use of; be concerned with; have to do with.
• To trade or deal in; buy and sell: as, to handle stationery, stocks, or real estate.
• [⟨ handle, n.] To furnish with a handle or handles: as, to handle a teacup.
• To use the hands; act or work by means of the hands.
• To act or give a result of any kind when handled.
• noun The feel or touch of goods handled.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• intransitive verb To use the hands.
• noun That part of vessels, instruments, etc., which is held in the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc.
• noun That of which use is made; the instrument for effecting a purpose; a tool.
• noun to furnish an occasion or means.
• transitive verb To touch; to feel with the hand; to use or hold with the hand.
• transitive verb To manage in using, as a spade or a musket; to wield; often, to manage skillfully.
• transitive verb To accustom to the hand; to work upon, or take care of, with the hands.
• transitive verb To receive and transfer; to have pass through one's hands; hence, to buy and sell.
• transitive verb To deal with; to make a business of.
• transitive verb To treat; to use, well or ill.
• transitive verb To manage; to control; to practice skill upon.
• transitive verb To use or manage in writing or speaking; to treat, as a theme, an argument, or an objection.
• transitive verb [Colloq.] See under Glove.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun slang A name, nickname or pseudonym.
• noun A part of an object which is held in the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc.
• noun That of which use is made; an instrument for effecting a purpose (either literally or figuratively); a tool.
• noun Australia, New Zealand A 10 fl oz (285 ml) glass of beer in the Northern Territory. See also pot, middy for other regional variations.
• noun US a 1.75-liter (half-gallon) bottle of alcohol
• noun computing A reference to an object or structure that can be stored in a variable.