A fist's a hand that's the fingers curled into the palm and the thumb retracted. This's typically used in unarmed combat, such as fist-fighting. This type of hand formation's often used to become "Battle Ready". See also Punch (strike). The clenched fist hand gesture's a sign of defiance in some cultures. It can refer to: In falconry, the hand covered by a heavy glove as in boxin, on which the hawk perches "in a ... fist" sometimes used instead of "in a ... hand" when referring to clumsy handw… (More on Fist)