handbag

[ hand-bag ]
See synonyms for handbag on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. 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.

Origin of handbag

1
First recorded in 1860–65; hand + bag

Words that may be confused with handbag

Words Nearby handbag

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use handbag in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for handbag

handbag

/ (ˈhændˌbæɡ) /


noun
  1. Also called: bag, (US and Canadian) purse, (chiefly US) pocketbook a woman's small bag carried to contain personal articles

  2. a small suitcase that can be carried by hand

  1. a commercial style of House music

Origin of handbag

1
(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