at hand
prep_phrase1
Within easy reach; nearby.
- I don't have the information at hand, but I can look it up.
- The King your brother is now hard at hand, Meete with the foole, and rid your royall ſhoulders Of ſuch a burden, as outweighs the ſands And all the craggie rockes of Caſpea.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:
2
Near; soon.
- Blessed is hee that readeth, and they that heare the words of this prophesie, and keepe those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 1:3:
- At last, one morning, the propeller was quiet, and the Narwhal was pervaded with an atmosphere of excitement. He felt it, as did the other dogs, and knew that a change was at hand.1903 July, Jack London, “Into the Primitive”, in The Call of the Wild, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 39:
3
Figuratively Currently receiving attention.
- The problem at hand is not the inability of the Arabs and the Jews to live together peacefully.2001, Ghaith Mahmood, “Problem is about oppression, not coexistence”, in The Daily Bruin, archived from the original on 29 Sep 2007:
- Related terms
- near at hand