at hand meaning

• Adjective: at hand
  1. Close in space; within reach
     "the town is close at hand"
     - close at hand 
  2. Close in time; about to occur
     "retribution is at hand"; "some people believe the day of judgment is close at hand"
     - close at hand, imminent, impendent, impending

  See also: close

• 
  [American idiom]
  close by. (Used with both time and distance.)
  • I don't happen to have your application at hand at the moment.
  • With the holiday season at hand, everyone is very excited.
  
• 
  [American slang]
  close by in time or space.
    I don't happen to have your application at hand at the moment.
    With the holiday season at hand, everyone is very excited.

• by hand:    Adverb: by handWit ...
• hand:    Noun: hand &n ...
• hand in:    1. hand in sth • h ...

Examples

1. he judged his chance was now at hand.
2. he wishes to have a messenger at hand.
3. evidently the expected rain was close at hand.
4. the work at hand is not a theoretical treatise.
5. we believe that peace is at hand.