lay a finger / hand on sb/sth

/lˈeɪ ɐ fˈɪŋɡə hˈand ˌɒn ˌɛsbˈiː slˈaʃ ˌɛstˌiːˈeɪtʃ/

/lˈeɪ ɐ fˈɪŋɡɚ hˈænd ˌɑːn ˌɛsbˈiː slˈæʃ ˌɛstˌiːˈeɪtʃ/

[phrase]

to lay a finger / hand on sb/sth

[PHRASE]

to try to hurt a person physically or damage something in any slight way

to make physical contact with a person or thing

Examples

1. I never laid a finger on her.

2. If you lay a finger on me, I’ll call the police.

3. They had an instant connection without her even laying a finger on him.

4. DeMille thought he could easily take out the slight China man but was surprised to discover that he was unable to lay a finger on Bruce, who was able to block and counter with deadly efficiency.