handler
/ˈhændlə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhændlər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈhan-dᵊl-ər ˈhan(d)-lər/ (ame, mw)
handler — noun
- handlersingular
- handlersplural
1. a worker whose job is to lift, move, or touch a particular kind of goods, such a
a worker whose job is to lift, move, or touch a particular kind of goods, such as luggage at an airport or food in a kitchen
Caio works as a baggage handler at Lisbon airport during the busy summer months.
compound: baggage handler (job title)
Every food handler at the bakery must wash their hands before touching the bread.
compound: food handler in workplace rules
The cargo handlers loaded twenty heavy boxes onto the small fishing boat at dawn.
Aylin trained as a chemical handler so she could work safely in the new lab.
Two warehouse handlers were lifting a large wooden crate when the alarm rang.
文法句型
baggage handler
food handler
cargo handler
用法筆記
Always preceded by a noun that names what is being moved or touched (baggage, food, cargo, chemicals). Rarely used alone without that modifier.
常見錯誤
2. a worker whose job is to take charge of a specific task or process for a company
a worker whose job is to take charge of a specific task or process for a company, customer, or client, such as dealing with insurance claims or customer complaints
Baraka spent three years as a claims handler at a small insurance firm in Nairobi.
compound: claims handler (insurance role)
The complaints handler listened patiently while the angry customer explained the broken washing machine.
compound: complaints handler
Each case handler at the agency looks after about thirty refugee families at any one time.
Élise emailed the booking handler twice but never received a reply about her train tickets.
A skilled returns handler can solve most customer problems in under five minutes.
文法句型
claims handler
complaints handler
case handler
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 by the type of modifier: sense 1 takes physical goods (food, cargo), sense 2 takes administrative tasks (claims, complaints, cases). Both senses share the worker meaning but the work is desk-based here.
3. a person whose job is to teach an animal how to behave and to control it during
a person whose job is to teach an animal how to behave and to control it during work or shows, most often used about dogs
Shanti spent six years as a police dog handler before opening her own training school.
compound: police dog handler (career)
The horse handler walked the nervous mare in slow circles around the small paddock.
compound: horse handler in scene
Christopher waited at the start line with his sheepdog, the youngest handler in the competition.
Every dog handler at the airport must complete two years of training before working alone.
Ada whispered a command, and her search-and-rescue dog turned toward the smell of the missing child.
文法句型
dog handler
horse handler
police handler
用法筆記
Most often appears in the compounds 'dog handler' and 'horse handler'. The animal type usually comes before the word; when alone, context (a show, a kennel, police work) tells the reader which animal is meant.
4. a person whose job is to manage what an important person, such as a politician o
a person whose job is to manage what an important person, such as a politician or actor, says and does in public, including talking to reporters and planning events
Sivan was the senator's chief handler during the long and difficult election campaign in 2024.
phrase: chief handler + campaign
The actress arrived at the awards with three handlers walking quickly beside her down the red carpet.
plural: with three handlers
The pop star's handlers refused to let reporters ask any questions about the divorce.
A good media handler can stop a small mistake from becoming a public scandal.
The president's handlers planned every minute of the visit, from the airport welcome to the dinner speech.
文法句型
someone's handlers
campaign handler
media handler
用法筆記
Frequently used in the plural ('her handlers', 'the candidate's handlers'). Often has a slight negative tone, suggesting the famous person is being too carefully controlled or protected from real questions.
5. an officer in a secret service who gives instructions to a spy, receives the spy
an officer in a secret service who gives instructions to a spy, receives the spy's reports, and decides what the spy will do next
The British spy met his handler every Thursday at a quiet café near the Vienna opera house.
pattern: someone's + handler + meeting place
Quan never told anyone the real name of his handler at the foreign intelligence service.
Ayesha's handler in Berlin sent coded messages through an ordinary-looking weather website.
Before each mission, the agent received written orders from her handler in a brown envelope.
A good handler protects the spy's identity even from other officers inside the same agency.
- controller
older British intelligence term; very similar meaning
- case officer
more technical; the formal job title inside intelligence agencies
- asset
the spy who reports to the handler, not the one giving orders
文法句型
someone's handler
case handler (intelligence sense)
用法筆記
Almost always appears with a possessive ('his handler', 'her handler', 'the agent's handler'). Common in spy novels and news reports about intelligence work; rare in everyday speech.
6. someone whose job is to train and support a fighter, mainly a boxer, by giving a
someone whose job is to train and support a fighter, mainly a boxer, by giving advice and care between rounds during a match
Devika worked as a boxer's handler in Mumbai for over a decade before retiring last year.
compound: boxer's handler (boxing career)
Between rounds, the handler pressed a cold sponge against the young fighter's swollen left eye.
scene: handler + between-rounds action
Stephanie shouted advice from the corner, her best handler since the start of her career.
Every good boxer needs a calm handler who can see clearly when the fight is becoming dangerous.
Lisa's handler waved a small white towel into the ring to stop the punishing third round.
文法句型
someone's handler
boxer's handler
用法筆記
Most common in boxing; for other sports, 'coach' or 'trainer' is the everyday word. Compare with sense 3: a sports handler works with a human athlete, while a dog or horse handler works with an animal.