English
handful
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈhæn(d)fʊl/, /ˈhæn(d)fəl/
Noun

handful (plural handfuls)

  1. The amount that a hand will grasp or contain.
    I put two or three corns in my mouth, liked it, stole a handful, went into my chamber, chewed it, and for two months after never failed taking toll of every pennyworth of oatmeal that came into the house. - Joseph Addison, The Spectator, Vol. VI
  2. (obsolete) A hand's breadth; four inches.
    • 1626, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum, Or, A Naturall Historie: In Ten Centuries
      Knap the tongs together about a handful from the bottom.
  3. A small number, usually approximately five.
    • This handful of men were tied to very hard duty.
  4. A group or number of things; a bunch.
  5. (colloquial) Something which can only be managed with difficulty.
    Those twins are a real handful to look after.
    • 2008, Dog Fancy (volume 39, issue 11, page 76)
      Many times dogs are surrendered for reasons such as changes in the family unit, a death in the family, no time to care for a dog, or because that cute little puppy is now a 100 lb untrained handful.
Synonyms Related terms Translations Translations Translations Translations

This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
Offline English dictionary