handkerchief
a small piece of linen, silk, or other fabric, usually square, and used especially for wiping one's nose, eyes, face, etc., or for decorative purposes.
a neckerchief or kerchief.
Origin of handkerchief
1Words Nearby handkerchief
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use handkerchief in a sentence
She wore a jaunty handkerchief tied around her neck and a pair of orange Wayfarer-style sunglasses.
In Tennessee, the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary welcomes two-legged visitors | Andrea Sachs | October 29, 2021 | Washington PostEvans got up, wrapped a handkerchief around his hand and resumed shouting orders.
Wreckage of long-lost WW II ship, sunken with its Native American skipper and half its crew, identified | Michael Ruane | April 2, 2021 | Washington PostShe’s working from her home in Brooklyn and she’s reaching for a handkerchief.
Samira Nasr, a fashion first at Harper’s Bazaar: ‘I just want to bring more people with me to the party’ | Robin Givhan | February 19, 2021 | Washington PostBeing dapper is all about attention to detail, like sporting a perfectly tucked handkerchief in your suit pocket.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Don Draper in Your Life | Allison McNearney | November 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWaving a silk cloth, he declared, “Gentlemen, I will have this land just as surely as I now have this handkerchief.”
Avisar, who sports a green handkerchief and a face streaked with green paint, is from the city of Holon, near Tel Aviv.
A Camp Away From Terror: Where Israeli and Palestinian Kids Find Common Ground | Nina Strochlic | August 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTessie rose, unrolled her scented handkerchief, and taking a bit of gum from a knot in the hem, placed it in her mouth.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA small lace handkerchief lay on the keys, and I turned away, choking.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe folded them tightly in a handkerchief, and thrust the parcel as far as her arm could reach between the mattress and the bed.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuHe did not think of the matter again till just as he was getting into bed, when he noticed a red stain upon his handkerchief.
Uncanny Tales | VariousHe passed his handkerchief for the last time over face and head, and resumed his wig.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniThe handkerchief glimmered on the counter, more white than anything else in that grey dusk.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold BennettWith hands nervously working within her muff, she suddenly missed the handkerchief which she had placed there.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold Bennett
British Dictionary definitions for handkerchief
/ (ˈhæŋkətʃɪf, -tʃiːf) /
a small square of soft absorbent material, such as linen, silk, or soft paper, carried and used to wipe the nose, 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
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