Definition of "in hand"

in hand

prepositional phrase
1. In physical possession; at one's disposal.
2. Held in the hand or hands.
3. (obsolete) In the presence of a particular person.
4. Under consideration; currently being dealt with or addressed.
  Quotations
  'What have they to do with the matter in hand - the murder on this train?'
  1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 6, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 119
  They form part of the vast electrification and reconstruction schemes which have been in hand for a number of years at Liverpool Street, and in suburban Essex, and include the rearrangement of tracks, of which the Ilford flyover forms part; the modern signal boxes, now needed only at key points; the electric control or sub-stations; and a large electric car shed.
  1951 January, R. A. H. Weight, “A Railway Recorder in Essex and Hertfordshire”, in Railway Magazine, page 44
5. Under control.
6. (snooker, billiards, pool) Of the cue ball: not on the table; able to be positioned by the current player.
7. (sports, chiefly UK) Still to be played.
  Quotations
  At the other end […] the Sounders completed a run that had taken them from 15 points off the lead, to first place in the Supporters Shield standings with two games in hand.
  2013 September 16, The Guardian