handkerchief
Americannoun
-
handkerchiefs
plural
-
a small piece of linen, silk, or other fabric, usually square, and used especially for wiping one's nose, eyes, face, etc., or for decorative purposes.
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a neckerchief or kerchief.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of handkerchief
Explanation
A handkerchief is a square of fabric that you can use to blow your nose. You can also tuck a handkerchief in the breast pocket of a suit, or wear it tied jauntily around your neck. You can call a handkerchief a "hanky," or just a kerchief, although this more often means "a square piece of cloth worn as a head covering." This last part of handkerchief comes from the Old French couvrechief, literally meaning "cover head," from couvrir, "cover," and chief, "head." So a handkerchief is a similar cloth held in the hand — to mop your brow or wipe your eyes.
Vocabulary lists containing handkerchief
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 4
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Shiloh
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"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And when the stormy morning after arrives, each peal of thunder sends Julia into a paroxysm of nerves that flings her around like a handkerchief caught in a stiff breeze.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
Afterwards Nawat appeared at a press conference wearing a tuxedo and openly weeping as he theatrically dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief, claiming he had been "betrayed".
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2025
Indeed, using the flag as a handkerchief has at least twice led to courts-martial.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2025
A piece of card and a handkerchief was then placed between them.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2024
There was Beatrice in an elegant skirt of Swiss cotton, a handkerchief folded and gathered at the waist, though she has no waist.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
The insider further revealed that the lovers spent 20 minutes exchanging their handwritten vows, and that they handed out custom handkerchiefs, embroidered with a “TT” and lyrics from Swift’s 2014 song “Blank Space.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
They covered their faces with wet handkerchiefs as they had no proper masks on hand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Decades ago, the air was so polluted that her children wore handkerchiefs over their mouths when they went to school.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
Once there, the players frantically waved white table handkerchiefs above their heads to a live rendition of Freed From Desire expertly played by the in-house saxophonist.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2025
‘Vive l’armée!’ could be heard everywhere, while people waved handkerchiefs and hats.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
