Phrase guide

force someone's hand

verb · 1 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

Bring about a situation which necessitates an agent to act, often causing a plan to be executed prematurely.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

A metaphorical reference to card games.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 逼上梁山 (bīshàngliángshān) — to bring about a situation
  • Finnish: pakottaa toimimaan — to bring about a situation
  • French: forcer la main — to bring about a situation
  • Italian: forzare la mano — to bring about a situation
  • Serbo-Croatian: iznuditi — to bring about a situation
  • Spanish: forzar la mano — to bring about a situation