handful

[hand-fool]

noun

plural

handfuls 

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

/ 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 Note

See -ful.

Word History and Origins

Origin of handful¹

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

Example Sentences

Technology keeps remaking the way Americans invest, from the introduction of the electric telegraph in 1844 to the advent of artificial intelligence in just the past handful of years.

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Prediction markets face a handful of legal challenges from state litigators, but Spruce Point reported that these challenges are likely to go to the U.S.

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Of those efforts, only a handful have been successful.

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Doctors in a handful of states with so-called shield laws have prescribed the medication to women in states with abortion bans.

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“Just as big tech—and especially artificial intelligence—faces scrutiny over their water use, a handful of highly dependent agri-food companies hold outsized influence in building water resilience,” said Henry Throp, research manager at FAIRR.

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