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handful

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handful

  • /ˈhæn(d)fʊl/
  • /ˈhæn(d)fəl/

Rhymes with -ænfʊl, -ændfʊl, -ænfəl, -ændfəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English handful, hondful, from Old English handfull (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handufullō, *handufulliz (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handuz (“hand”) + *fullaz (“full”); equivalent to hand + full (“fullness, plenty”) or hand + -ful. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hondful (“handful”), West Frisian hânfol (“handful”), Dutch handvol (“handful”), German Handvoll (“handful”), Danish håndfuld (“handful”), Swedish handfull (“handful”), Icelandic handfylli (“handful”).

noun handfuls · handsful · handfull

  1. The amount that a hand will grasp or contain. I put two or three corns in my mouth, liked it, stole a handful, went into my chamber, chewed it, and for two months after never failed taking toll of every pennyworth of oatmeal that came into the house: […]

    Similar: fistful

  2. obsolete A hand's breadth; four inches. Knap the tongs together about a handful from the bottom.
  3. A small number, usually approximately five. This handful of men were tied to very hard duty.
  4. A group or number of things; a bunch. But, aunt, she must have had some kind of education, her accent was so pure, her English so unfaulty. The other girl dropped her h's by handfuls, and made some very wild confusion in her native etymology.
  5. informal Something which can only be managed with difficulty. Those twins are a real handful to look after.
  6. slang A five-year prison sentence.

Similar: handbreadth, handsbreadth

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: fistful, smattering, handhold, handle, clutch, grip, catch, hunk, knob, bunch, pocket, trickle, lock, doorknob, hilt, door

noun

Similar: handbreadth, handsbreadth

Translations

Every language

noun breadth of hand

Portuguêspalmo
Françaismanipule
DeutschHandbreite
Italianomanipolo, gruppetto, pugno

noun small number

Españolpuñado
日本語少数 shōsū
中文少數 /少数 shǎoshù
Portuguêspunhado
Françaispoignée
DeutschHandvoll
Italianomanciata, pugno, manipolo
Ελληνικάχούφτα choúfta
Русскийго́рстка górstka, горсть gorstʹ

noun handled with difficulty

中文棘手事
Italianoindisciplinato, irrequieto, birichino

noun amount held in hand

Españolmanojo, puñado, almozada, almueza, ambuesta
한국어한 줌 han jum
日本語一握り hitonigiri, 一掴み hitotsukami
中文滿手 /满手 mǎnshǒu
Kiswahilikonzi
Portuguêspunhado, mancheia
Françaispoignée
DeutschHandvoll
Italianomanciata, pugno, manipolo
Ελληνικάχούφτα choúfta
Românăpumn, mănunchi
Русскийгорсть gorstʹ, при́горшня prígoršnja, жме́ня žménja
Tiếng Việtnắm, vốc
العربيةحَفْنَة ḥafna
עבריתחֹפֶן ẖófen

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Cite this
MLA

"handful." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/handful. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

handful. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/handful

Chicago

"handful." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/handful.

BibTeX
@misc{handful_2026,
  title = {handful},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/handful},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}