handful

American  

[hand-fool] / ˈhænd fʊl /

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.

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handful British  

/ 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

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Spelling

See -ful.

Etymology

Origin of handful

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

Explanation

A handful is just a little of something, or the amount you can hold in your hand. It can be a literal handful, like a handful of popcorn, or it can mean just a few, like a handful of trucks. You might find yourself eating handfuls of raspberries when you're supposed to be picking them to make jam. Another meaning of handful is "just a few," as in "There are only a handful of dogs at the dog park this morning." And a third way to use this word is to mean "incredibly difficult to handle." If your mom says, "You were a handful when you were a toddler," she means you were not easy.

Example Sentences

The Lib Dems are hoping for gains in constituency seats across the Highlands and on the outskirts of Glasgow and Edinburgh, with perhaps a handful of list seats in other regions.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

The company has since been testing out higher-end independent hotel listings in a handful of cities, like Los Angeles, New York and Madrid.

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

The store also does cultivation on site, with a handful of in-house products grown for retail sale, the bulk going to wholesale.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Much like Wintour, Bolton and so many working in media, Miranda and her cohorts go up against a handful of billionaires who have the power to decide Runway’s fate.

From Salon • May 6, 2026

Wolf pounced on Torak, nearly knocking him over Torak laughed and gave him a handful of blackberries from his food pouch.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver