left, right
beautiful, delicate, long-fingered, pretty, slender
manicured, well-manicured
calloused/callused, rough
soft
firm, strong
limp
He offered a limp hand to shake.

frail
arthritic
gnarled
clawed, claw-like
bony
He holds out a bony hand for her to shake.

hairy
cool
His hand, when she shook it, was cool and firm.

clammy, sweaty
He clutched the cane in his clammy hand.

dirty, filthy, greasy, grimy, grubby, sticky, unwashed
He wiped his greasy hands on the front of his overalls.

clean
gloved
open
She gestured to the window with an open hand.

outstretched
She walked up to him with her hand outstretched to take his.

free
With his free hand he took hold of the knife.

cupped
She rested her chin in her cupped hand.

busy, deft
Her busy hands had transformed the tiny room into a work of art.

willing
There's plenty of work for willing hands

eager
Eager hands reached out to help him.

nervous, shaking, shaky, trembling, unsteady
steady
A surgeon needs a good eye and a steady hand.

comforting, friendly, gentle, sympathetic
He put a friendly hand on his friend's knee.
He laid a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder.

generous, liberal (both figurative)
She filled our glasses with a generous hand.

capable, expert, guiding, practised/practiced, reassuring, skilful/skillful, skilled
With a practised hand he motioned a waiter to bring a fresh pot of coffee.

careless, clumsy
invisible (figurative)
the invisible hand of the market

take
She took the child's hand and helped him climb the steps.

grab
He grabbed my hand and motioned for me to follow him.

reach for
He reached for her hand and held it tightly.

hold, hold on to
They walked along, holding hands.
She held on to my hand as I tried to leave.

clutch, grasp
Hannah grasped her hand.

clutch sth in, clutch sth with, grasp sth in, grasp sth with, hold sth in
He held the key in his hand.
Beth grasped the rope with both hands.

press, squeeze, touch
She pressed his hand. ‘I know,’ she said softly.

shake
He shook Blake's hand as if they were long lost friends.
He shook hands with all of us before leaving.

feel
I felt a hand on my shoulder.

extend, hold out, put out, reach out
She smiled and extended a hand in welcome.
He put out a hand as if to touch her.

lay, place, press, put, rest
He laid a hand on her arm.
She put her hands to her cheeks in embarrassment.
She rested her hand on my shoulder.

slap
Jimmy slapped his hand over his mouth.

slide
He slid his hands into his pockets.

run
Clive ran a hand through his hair.

withdraw
Slowly Ruth withdrew her hand from his.

hold up, lift, put up (esp. BrE), raise, throw up
He lifted his hand to her face.
Several students raised their hands to answer the question.
She held up her hand in farewell.
He threw up his hands in despair when he saw the damage.

spread
She shrugged and spread her hands. ‘That's all I can tell you.’

wave
clap
We were all clapping our hands in time to the music.

clasp, clench, wring
He had his hands clasped behind his head.
She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling.
He was sobbing and wringing his hands by the grave.

beat
He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.

cup
I cupped my hand over the mouthpiece of the phone so they couldn't hear me.

fold
She folds her hands in prayer.

rub
She shivered, rubbing her hands together fiercely.

wash
wipe

shake, tremble
Her hand shook as she lifted the glass to her lips.

be outstretched, reach out, shoot out
She stood up and went over to him, her hands outstretched.
A strong hand reached out and caught hold of her arm.

grope for sth, reach for sth, seek sth
My hand groped for the door handle.
His hand sought hers.

find sth
His hand eventually found the light switch.

catch sth, clamp, clasp sth, grab sth, grasp sth, seize sth
The policeman kept a firm hand clamped on his shoulder.

clutch sth, grip sth, hold sth
clamp, clench, close around sth, close on sth
A heavy hand clamped over her mouth.
My hands clenched together tightly.
A hand closed around her wrist.

claw sth, claw at sth, pull sth, tug sth
His hands clawed at the muddy earth.

cup sth
His hands cupped her face.

push sth
squeeze sth, tighten sth
brush sth, brush across sth, brush against sth, caress sth, stroke sth, touch sth
His hand brushed against hers.

creep, go, move, slide, slip, steal, stray
Muriel's hand crept to her neck to hold her pearls.

fly
Her hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh no!’

jerk, twitch
run over sth, run through sth, trail
Her hand ran over the surface, feeling the different textures.

freeze, still
His hand froze in mid-gesture.

hover, roam
My hand hovered over the switch for a moment.
His hands roamed over her shoulders.

fumble
My hands fumbled with the key.

lie, rest
His hand rested on her shoulder.

go up, shoot up
come down, descend, drop
A large hand descended on his shoulder.
His hands dropped to his sides and he fell to the floor.

withdraw
lift, rise
Her hand lifted to place a cigarette in her mouth.

cover sth
Her hand moved to cover his.

gesture, movement, position, signal
dryer, towel
axe/ax, drill, saw (usually handsaw), tools
pump
blender, mixer
Purée with a hand blender or food processor.

puppet
drum
mirror
baggage, luggage (both esp. BrE) (carry-on baggage in AmE)
You can take your laptop on the plane as hand luggage.

cream, lotion, sanitizer (AmE), soap
grenade, gun (usually handgun)
injury
count, recount (both esp. AmE)
a hand recount of the vote for governor

by hand
Delicate clothes should be washed by hand.

by … hands
The rocks looked like they had been shaped by human hands.

in your hand
She had a piece of paper in her hand.
Can I leave these queries in your capable hands? (figurative)

on your hand
She had large rings on both hands.

with your hand
Operate the gears with your left hand.

ball your hands into fists
fall into the wrong hands (figurative)
Guards made sure that the food supplies didn't fall into the wrong hands.

get your hands off sb/sth, keep your hands off sb/sth, take your hands off sb/sth
She warned her brother to keep his hands off her bag.

get your hands on sth, lay your hands on sth
I desperately need to lay my hands on some money by Monday.

hand in hand
They walked hand in hand along the path.

hands on hips
She stood in the doorway, hands on hips.

head in your hands
He sat with his head in his hands.

in safe hands (figurative)
He retired feeling confident that his company was in safe hands.

a safe pair of hands (figurative)
She gained a reputation as a safe pair of hands.

a show of hands
She asked for a show of hands (= asked people to vote).

on (your) hands and knees
He was on his hands and knees, looking for a contact lens.

out of sb's hands (figurative)
I don't work in that department any more, so the problem is out of my hands.

the palm of your hand
She studied the object in the palm of her hand.

with your bare hands
He killed the lion with his bare hands.

give sb, lend (sb)
Can you give me a hand with loading the van?
At harvest time all the locals lend a hand.

need
Do you need a hand with those invoices?

want
Do you want a hand with that?

have
strengthen
The strategic alliance served to strengthen the country's hand in the region.

hand in
Several of his colleagues had a hand in his downfall.

bad, good

deal (sb)
Who dealt the last hand?
She felt that life had dealt her a bad hand. (figurative)

get, have
play
overplay (usually figurative)
The party leadership overplayed its hand.

reveal, show (usually figurative)
Now the EU has revealed its hand.