at handとは意味・読み方・使い方

前置詞句

at hand

1. Within easy reach; nearby.

   I don't have the information at hand, but I can look it up.

   Synonyms: handy, to hand, on hand

   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], part 1, 2nd edition, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, OCLC 932920499; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:

     The King your brother is now hard at hand,
     Meete with the foole, and rid your royall ſhoulders
     Of ſuch a burden, as outweighs the ſands
     And all the craggie rockes of Caſpea.

2. Near; soon

   Synonyms: approaching, imminent; see also Thesaurus:impending

   • 1903 July, Jack London, “Into the Primitive”, in The Call of the Wild, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., OCLC 28228581, page 39:

     At last, one morning, the propeller was quiet, and the Narwhal was pervaded with an atmosphere of excitement. He felt it, as did the other dogs, and knew that a change was at hand.

3. (figuratively) Currently receiving attention.
   • 2001, Mahmood, Ghaith, “Problem is about oppression, not coexistence”, in The Daily Bruin‎^[1]:

     The problem at hand is not the inability of the Arabs and the Jews to live together peacefully.