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handler

noun

  1. one that handles something
  2. a person in immediate physical charge of an animal
  3. a person who trains or acts as second for a boxer
  4. a manager of a political or public figure or campaign
L321661 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈhænd.lə/ / /ˈhænd.lɚ/ / [ˈhɛənd.lɚ]

name

  1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English handler, handiller, equivalent to handle + -er.

  1. One who handles something (especially manually) or someone.

    The handler of a weapon gets a symbolic sensation of deadly power.

    Although the airline told them it took such action because they might spread the disease in their capacity as food handlers, neither was offered a transfer to other departments.

  2. A controller, trainer, someone who handles a specified thing, animal or person (especially a prizefighter).

    The spy's handler told him to approach the subject by posing as a dog handler.

    They are also very sympathetic, especially Caesar’s orangutan advisor, Maurice (Karin Konoval), who takes a shine to a human moppet (Amiah Miller) he finds hiding in the back of a shack, and the poignant Bad Ape (a scene-stealing Steve Zahn), a mangy chimp who was beaten so often in his zoo-animal days that he came to believe what his handlers were shouting was supposed to be his name.

  3. An advisor or manager providing guidance to a person occupying public office or a prominent position.

    The governor received guidance on how to best disseminate key information to the public from her handler.

  4. A subroutine that handles a particular situation such as an event or exception.

    If the expression is a throw, we unwind the stack seeking a handler expression.