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.

---

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

---

Spelling

See -ful.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• handfuls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of handful

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

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 payrolls of college football teams, in particular, have skyrocketed, exceeding $40 million this season for a handful of schools.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

"We cannot expect a handful of security personnel to monitor thousands of students. We need to work together because otherwise this will be very difficult for us to address," he told Reuters.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The entire post-war economic world order was organized by the U.S. and a handful of allies, along with the institutions that undergird global commitments to human rights and international law.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

Just a handful of companies make them, and not quickly enough to meet fervent demand by AI companies engaged in data-intensive workloads.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

Only a handful of people are huddled near the holographic pucks, discussing animatedly among themselves like my teachers debating about who the worst football team is.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

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

I have friends who choke down Greek yogurt by the bucketful, who eat handfuls of grilled chicken at a time, who dead lift their own body weight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

This dread has been my constant companion ever since I lathered up, rinsed and watched handfuls of dirty blonde strands circle the drain three weeks ago.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

Firefighters hopped out and tossed handfuls of candy into the crowds.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn