handful

American  

[hand-fool] / ˈhænd fʊl /

noun

• handfuls
  plural

1. the quantity or amount that the hand can hold.

   a handful of coins.

2. a small amount, number, or quantity.

   a handful of men.

3. Informal. a person or thing that is as much as one can manage or control.

   The baby's tantrums made him a handful.

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handful British  

/ ˈhændfʊl /

noun

1. the amount or number that can be held in the hand

2. a small number or quantity

3. informal a person or thing difficult to manage or control

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Spelling

See -ful.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• handfuls
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of handful

before 900; Middle English, Old English. See hand, -ful

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Explanation

A handful is just a little of something, or the amount you can hold in your hand. It can be a literal handful, like a handful of popcorn, or it can mean just a few, like a handful of trucks. You might find yourself eating handfuls of raspberries when you're supposed to be picking them to make jam. Another meaning of handful is "just a few," as in "There are only a handful of dogs at the dog park this morning." And a third way to use this word is to mean "incredibly difficult to handle." If your mom says, "You were a handful when you were a toddler," she means you were not easy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

handful handfuls

The letter's signatories came from throughout the military and included a handful of officers who retired during Trump's first term.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

The agreement on "made in Europe" restricts its application regarding cars to the EU's 27 countries, with an opt-in for a handful of others, notably Britain and Norway under certain conditions.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

It isn’t difficult to imagine a future with a handful of companies worth $10 trillion each.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The primary suite features a handful of the striking stained-glass windows that appear throughout the home, harkening back to the property’s roots as the Peace Church.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

There’s also a handful of missed calls from them.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Dozens of Khan supporters gathered near the private hospital, while others flung handfuls of red flower petals at passing cars.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

"We call it rotting out," says Fererro, now wearing a white laboratory coat as he adds handfuls of seagrass to the Calshot tank.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

A few handfuls of oats, pistachios or pecans, butter, maple syrup.

From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026

After a litany of stressful events, I couldn’t handle more handfuls of hair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

Mr. Beaver scooped up handfuls of the resin and smeared it all over the wooden foot and the vines until everything was glistening with stickiness.

From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown

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