handler
person managing things or animals
A person whose job is to move, control, or take care of certain things or animals.
a [type] handler; a handler for [something]
- The airline hired extra baggage handlers to cope with the holiday rush.
- Each police dog and its handler must complete a strict training program.
- Only trained animal handlers are allowed to work behind the scenes at the zoo.
- The cash handler must follow strict security procedures at all times.
- Farmers often rely on experienced livestock handlers during auctions.
- The baggage handler put my suitcase on the plane.
- A dog handler walked three police dogs in the park.
- Only the animal handler can touch the tiger.
- The cash handler counts money all day.
- The zoo pays handlers to care for the animals.
manager of a public figure
A person who plans and controls what a famous person does and how other people see them.
[someone]'s handler; a political handler for [someone]
- The candidate’s handlers kept reporters away after the debate.
- Her media handler reviewed every question before the interview began.
- According to staff, his political handlers decide which events he attends.
- The actor’s handler quickly ended the press conference when the questions turned personal.
- Handlers carefully controlled access to the star during the festival.
- The singer’s handler told us we could not take photos.
- His political handler planned every part of the speech.
- Her media handler wrote answers for the interview.
- The handler said the actor was too tired to talk.
- Handlers kept the fans away from the movie star.
software component for handling events
A piece of computer code that runs when a special event happens, like a click or an error, and deals with that event.
an [event/error] handler for [something]
- The click handler updates the user interface when the button is pressed.
- If the error handler fails, the application may crash.
- You need to register an event handler for each type of notification.
- The interrupt handler must be as fast and simple as possible.
- A custom exception handler logs all runtime errors to the server.
- The program calls an event handler when you press this key.
- Our app has a special error handler to show a friendly message.
- We wrote a new handler to process login requests.
- The click handler opens a new window on the screen.
- Each signal has its own handler in the code.
controller of a spy or informant
A person in a police or spy agency who gives orders to a spy or informant and watches what they do.
[someone]'s handler; a handler for [an informant]
- The agent met her handler in a crowded café to pass on the documents.
- According to the report, his handler ordered him to stop contacting the journalist.
- Her FBI handler insisted that all meetings be recorded.
- His handler provided a new identity and safe house after the mission.
- Investigators are still trying to identify the foreign intelligence officer who acted as his handler.
- The spy called his handler every week.
- Her handler told her to leave the country.
- Police gave the informant’s handler a copy of the report.
- The agent’s handler sent secret messages.
- In the movie, the handler meets the spy at night.
player who controls the ball/disc
A player in a team game who usually holds the ball or disc and passes it to other players.
a handler on [team]; the main handler
- She’s the most reliable handler on the team and rarely turns the disc over.
- The coach wants a handler who can stay calm under pressure.
- They added a more experienced handler to improve their offense.
- As a handler, his job is to control the disc and direct the play.
- The team struggled without their main handler in the final game.
- In this sport, the handler throws the disc to other players.
- Our team has three handlers and four cutters.
- He is a good handler because he does not drop the ball.
- The coach asked the handler to slow down the game.
- Without their best handler, the team lost the match.
- Base: handler
- Plural: handlers
animal handler
1person who manages animals
A person whose job is to move, control, and take care of animals, for example at a zoo, on a farm, or in a circus or film.
- Experienced animal handlers accompanied the film crew during the safari shoot.
- Only trained animal handlers are allowed to work with the big cats.
baggage handler
1airport worker moving luggage
A person who works at an airport and moves bags on and off planes and around the airport.
- The airline blamed the delay on a shortage of baggage handlers.
- She worked as a baggage handler during the summer holidays.
dog handler
1person who controls working dogs
A person who works with dogs, training them, controlling them, and often showing them in competitions or using them for police or army work.
- The police dog handler demonstrated how the animals search for drugs.
- Only the dog handler was allowed inside the training area.
error handler
1code that deals with errors
A part of a computer program that runs when something goes wrong and then tries to fix the problem or show a message.
- The error handler displays a user-friendly message instead of crashing the app.
- A missing error handler caused the service to fail silently.
event handler
1software function responding to events
A piece of computer code that runs when something special happens, like a mouse click or a key press, and deals with that action.
- You need to attach an event handler to the button to make it respond to clicks.
- The event handler logs each user action to the database.
exception handler
1code that catches exceptions
Code in a program that runs when a special kind of error, called an exception, happens, and then deals with it.
- The exception handler writes the stack trace to a log file.
- Without a proper exception handler, the application will terminate unexpectedly.
media handler
1person controlling media access
A person who controls how and when someone, usually a famous or important person, talks to the press and other media.
- The star’s media handler ended the interview after only ten minutes.
- Her media handlers prepared a short statement for the press.
political handler
1person managing a politician
A person who plans and controls what a politician does in public, and how the public sees that politician.
- His political handlers limited his unscripted appearances.
- Reporters complained that her political handler blocked tough questions.