to hand

to hand idiom
  1. Also, at hand. Nearby, accessible, as in I don't have the right tools to hand but asked her to get them for me. [c. 1300]
  2. Also, in hand. In one's possession, as in He had their letter to hand, or She had the money in hand. The first term dates from the mid-1700s, the second from about 1200. Also see hand to hand.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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