at the hands of

phrase

variants or less commonly at the hand of

: by or through the action of

suffering at the hands of a cruel dictator

Examples of at the hands of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just two years later and the Sun Devils now sit at 2-2 with an anemic offense, fresh off a beatdown at the hands of Baylor, a team currently employing a coach who was on a ridiculously hot seat himself just a month earlier. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Meanwhile, host Missouri (4-1, 1-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season at the hands of Mississippi State last week. — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026

Stewart of course turned an MVP-winning 2023 regular season into a WNBA Finals berth for the Liberty, which resulted in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Las Vegas Aces. — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 3 Oct. 2026

Salvadoran identity, culture, literature and cuisine have become engines of pride and community in Los Angeles at the hands of first-generation Salvadoran Americans. — Daniel Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for at the hands of

• hereinabove
• above
• foxglove
• hereof
• thereof
• whereof
• dove
• glove
• love
• shove