handbag

[hand-bag]

See more synonyms for handbag on Thesaurus.com

noun

a bag or box of leather, fabric, plastic, or the like, held in the hand or carried by means of a handle or strap, commonly used by women for holding money, toilet articles, small purchases, etc.
valise.

Origin of handbag

First recorded in 1860–65; hand + bag

Can be confusedbriefcase handbag pocketbook purse valise wallet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for handbag

Contemporary Examples

Decorative yes, but a daily handbag that will sweep through the closets of women worldwide?
Handbags: The More You Pay, The Smaller They Shrink
Elizabeth Landers
December 29, 2014
Hermes helped us for her scarves, as well as Kelly handbag archives.
The Only Thing That Sparkles in ‘Grace of Monaco’…the Jewels
Liza Foreman
May 16, 2014
I have never spent more than two hundred dollars on a handbag.
How to Guest Star in Your Own Life
Annabelle Gurwitch
May 10, 2014
She had a handbag line, became a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, and hosted a Fox reality TV show, among other endeavors.
Stop Slut-Shaming Monica Lewinsky!
Emily Shire
May 7, 2014
The look was set off perfectly by a £795 Aspinall handbag—and a necklace from the cheaper main street store Accessorize.
Pippa Finally Figures Out How To Dress
Tom Sykes
January 15, 2014

Historical Examples

Slowly she untied the scarf from the door and placed it in her handbag.
Jennie Baxter, Journalist
Robert Barr
She packed into a handbag a few necessary things with some heirlooms of her own.
Bride of the Mistletoe
James Lane Allen
She took the two threatening letters from her handbag and gave them to the detective.
The Film of Fear
Arnold Fredericks
Her hands shook so that she could scarcely open her handbag.
Rim o' the World
B. M. Bower
In the third act one of the characters has to take his trousers out of a handbag.
Pipefuls
Christopher Morley

British Dictionary definitions for handbag

handbag

noun

Also called: bag, (US and Canadian) purse, (chiefly US) pocketbook a woman's small bag carried to contain personal articles
a small suitcase that can be carried by hand
a commercial style of House music

Word Origin

(for sense 3) C20: humorous allusion to the trend for groups of women to dance round their handbags in discos, nightclubs, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for handbag

n.

also hand-bag, 1854, from hand (n.) + bag (n.).

handbag

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}handbag

Examples from the Web for handbag

Contemporary Examples

Decorative yes, but a daily handbag that will sweep through the closets of women worldwide?

Hermes helped us for her scarves, as well as Kelly handbag archives.

I have never spent more than two hundred dollars on a handbag.

She had a handbag line, became a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, and hosted a Fox reality TV show, among other endeavors.

The look was set off perfectly by a £795 Aspinall handbag—and a necklace from the cheaper main street store Accessorize.

Historical Examples

Slowly she untied the scarf from the door and placed it in her handbag.

She packed into a handbag a few necessary things with some heirlooms of her own.

She took the two threatening letters from her handbag and gave them to the detective.

Her hands shook so that she could scarcely open her handbag.

In the third act one of the characters has to take his trousers out of a handbag.

handbag

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for handbag

n.

Origin of handbag