Phrase guide

come in handy

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To prove to be useful or helpful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, informal

Examples

  • Even though he doesn't really know how to use them, he keeps the tools around, figuring they might come in handy someday.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

be useful for a certain purpose

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: be

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

32 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: ser útil — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Chinese Mandarin: 派上用場 /派上用场 (pài shàng yòngchǎng) — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Danish: få brug for — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Danish: blive/være nyttig — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Dutch: van pas komen — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Finnish: tarvita — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Finnish: olla hyödyksi — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Finnish: olla käyttöä — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • French: être utile — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • German: zustatten kommen — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • German: gelegen kommen — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Hungarian: kapóra jön — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Hungarian: jól jön — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Hungarian: hasznára válik — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Hungarian: hasznos — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Hungarian: (jól) használható — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Icelandic: koma að góðum notum — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Icelandic: koma að gagni — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Icelandic: koma sér vel — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Italian: fare comodo — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Japanese: 役に立つ (yaku ni tatsu) — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Japanese: 役立つ (yakudatsu) — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Norwegian Bokmål: være god å ha — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Norwegian Bokmål: være til nytte — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Norwegian Bokmål: komme til nytte — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Polish: przydawać się — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Polish: przydać się — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Portuguese: vir a calhar — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Russian: быть кста́ти (bytʹ kstáti) — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Russian: пригоди́ться (prigodítʹsja) — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Spanish: ser útil — to prove to be useful or helpful
  • Swedish: komma väl till pass — to prove to be useful or helpful