thimbleful

[ thim-buhl-fool ]

/ ˈθɪm bəlˌfʊl /

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noun, plural thim·ble·fuls.

the amount that a thimble will hold.

a small quantity, especially of liquid.

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Origin of thimbleful

First recorded in 1600–10; thimble + -ful

usage note for thimbleful

See -ful.

Words nearby thimbleful

thigmotaxis, thigmotropism, thill, thimble, thimbleberry, thimbleful, thimblerig, thimbleweed, thimblewit, Thimbu, thimerosal

How to use thimbleful in a sentence

Imagine, for example, dropping a thimbleful of red dye into a swimming pool.
How Maxwell’s Demon Continues to Startle Scientists - Facts So Romantic|Jonathan O'Callaghan|April 29, 2021|Nautilus
Even more important, I got in my thimbleful of quality time with the man himself.
Russell Brand: Not Quite a Messiah|James Poulos|October 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The members of the crew had hardly swallowed their thimbleful of some home-made liqueur, when the rumble of a carriage was heard.
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket|Honore de Balzac
To York fair he must, he would go, if condemned to a bean and a thimbleful of water for fasting dinner ever after.
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events|S. Baring-Gould

They dined on dry biscuit and another thimbleful of water apiece and took watch by amiable agreement.
Where the Pavement Ends|John Russell
He poured the thimbleful and handed it over quickly, and when Perroquet had tossed it off he filled again and again.
Where the Pavement Ends|John Russell
The lunatic poured out a thimbleful for himself and filled Gaudissart's glass.
Parisians in the Country|Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for thimbleful

thimbleful

/ (ˈθɪmbəlˌfʊl) /

noun

a very small amount, esp of a liquid

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