on hand

From Middle English *onhande, onhende, from Old English onhende (“on hand, demanding attention”), from Proto-Germanic *anahandijaz. Equivalent to on- + hand. Cognate with Icelandic áhendur (“within reach”). Compare offhand.

• "If you have cornstarch on hand, use it; otherwise, try a little flour."
• "Freight rolling stock distribution is the concern of a section in the office. The clerk in charge of this section receives bulk returns from the districts at regular intervals of wagons on hand and wagon requirements."
• "Rustu failed to collect a Whitehead corner, Shawcross saw his effort blocked and Crouch was on hand to bundle over the line from three yards out."
• "She was on hand again in March when the EU gave €7.4bn (£6.3bn) to Egypt’s abusive dictator, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, partly to curb migrant flows."

• at hand
• handy
• to hand

• on one's hands