hanky
Americannoun
-
hankies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hanky
First recorded in 1890–95; han(d)k(erchief) + -y 2
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:
He pulled a white hanky from his breast pocket and dabbed away a tear after a prolonged embrace from his daughter, Ashley, who delivered a loving introduction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024
He helps her get a great night’s sleep at his place, no hanky panky, and then realizes an exclusive interview with her highness is a potential gold mine.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 29, 2020
“I was not having any of this hanky business, where you do a flight and don’t register it,” he said in the interview, which Hellström taped and shared years later with researchers.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 12, 2019
I noticed that her hanky was crumpled and not very clean.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 7, 2019
I folded up the hanky and set it in my pail before anyone could see what I had.
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
Mpofu’s tender and regretful “Addio, del passato” was heart-wrenching enough to make operagoers reach for their hankies.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2023
So, come for the boxing, yes — but bring plenty of hankies, too.
From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
Knots of people stand in shop doorways, a few clutch shopping bags, others have hankies wrapped tightly into their hands.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2021
I spent several clammy seconds refolding the letter and reassembling the remaining contents exactly as they had been — death note at the bottom, hankies, silver dollars and baseball on top.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2021
They dropped their huge purple flowers every so often, one at a time, like ladies dropping their hankies to get your attention.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
