lapful

American  

[lap-fool] / ˈlæp fʊl /

noun

plural

lapfuls

1. as much as the lap can hold.

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Spelling

See -ful.

Etymology

Origin of lapful

First recorded in 1605–15; lap ¹ + -ful

Example Sentences

Thus Nowell-Wilson cradles a lapful of eggs in one of her drawings, whose poses are modeled on classical canvases.

From Washington Post • Jun. 23, 2021

Then she saw the woman’s lapful of food and reached out hungrily.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 2, 2018

I recently found myself with a lapful of beignets, giddy with a childish excitement, in the backseat of a rental car.

From BBC • Dec. 16, 2017

Topics: Babies, , , , The video clip on Larry Sanger’s website shows the cofounder of Wikipedia looking both scholarly and paternal with his owlish glasses, thinning pate, open book, and lapful of chubby-cheeked 3-year-old.

From Salon • Sep. 12, 2012

Then I’d think about Aunt Loma with that lapful of rat or my mother jumping up on the seat, and it was like I was a gun fired off.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns