handbag
Americannoun
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handbags
plural
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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 for holding money, personal grooming items, small purchases, etc.
noun
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Also called: bag. purse. pocketbook. a woman's small bag carried to contain personal articles
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a small suitcase that can be carried by hand
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a commercial style of House music
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of handbag
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:
Meanwhile, Coach increased sales by 14% last quarter, largely among younger consumers making their first luxury handbag purchase.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
A woman who bought what she thought was a genuine Prada handbag second-hand on Vinted for £400 later discovered it was a fake.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Over thousands of years, humans have also developed hundreds of distinct types, ranging from tiny chihuahuas small enough to carry in a handbag to Great Danes that can reach a person's waist.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Upon awarding the prize, a member of the Nobel committee likened the technology’s ability to store enormous amounts of stuff in seemingly compact spaces to Hermione Granger’s enchanted handbag in the Harry Potter series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Out of bed, I riffle through my handbag until I come up with my notes from the pension bureau, scanning over them, looking for something to quiet my brain.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
People already use jewelry, handbags and clothing to express themselves.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
“Clothing and handbags are art to me,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Its Birkin handbags continue to sell at a premium to retail prices in the secondhand market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Current dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel, whose wife flaunts luxury handbags, is booed in public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
On the floor there was a jumble of satin shoes, debutante’s handbags, belts studded with fake stones, suspenders, and even the shining sword of a military cadet.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Definitions 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.
