handbreadth

American

[hand-bredth, -bretth] / ˈhændˌbrɛdθ, -ˌbrɛtθ /

Also hand'sbreadth

noun

a unit of linear measure from 2½ to 4 inches (6.4 to 10 centimeters).

handbreadth British

/ -ˌbrɛdθ, ˈhændˌbrɛtθ /

noun

the width of a hand used as an indication of length

"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

Etymology

Origin of handbreadth

First recorded in 1525–35; hand + breadth

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.

It lacks a handbreadth yet of the measure of a prince.'

From Project Gutenberg

The room is so richly decorated that scarce a handbreadth of the surface is free from ornament.

From Project Gutenberg

Suddenly the Sub came to a dead stop almost within a handbreadth of the levelled bayonet of the Turkish sentry.

From Project Gutenberg

It was like a dungeon, absolutely empty, with an uneven, earthen floor, quite dry, and high bare walls, gloomy, with a handbreadth of window high up.

From Project Gutenberg

Through teeth and skull and helmet, So fierce a thrust he sped, The good sword stood a handbreadth out Behind the Tuscan's head!

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023