handful

noun

hand·​ful ˈhan(d)-ˌfu̇l 

plural handfuls ˈhan(d)-ˌfu̇lz  also handsful ˈhan(d)z-ˌfu̇l 

1

: as much or as many as the hand will grasp

2

: a small quantity or number

a handful of people

3

: as much as one can manage

the kids are quite a handful

Synonyms

• couple
• few
• scatter
• scattering
• smatter
• smattering
• sprinkle
• sprinkling

Examples of handful in a Sentence

The children collected seashells by the handful.

Our dog is a real handful.

Recent Examples on the Web

Next year’s ceremony could be even tougher, given the odd state of the best picture race, which has no clear front-runner and appears likely to be dominated by a handful of film festival favorites. —Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024

His best work came in the first handful of minutes in the second period. —Harman Dayal, The Athletic, 17 Dec. 2024

The second is a custodian that's currently providing services to institutional investors in a handful of familiar crypto-assets. —Brady Dale, Axios, 17 Dec. 2024

Another handful of participants in that program and its antecedents have raised more than $10 million each and/or developed profitable business models. —Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 17 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

handful

noun

hand·​ful ˈhan(d)-ˌfu̇l 

plural handfuls -ˌfu̇lz  also handsful ˈhan(d)z-ˌfu̇l 

1

: as much or as many as the hand will grasp

a handful of jelly beans

2

: a small quantity or number

a handful of people

3

: as much as one can control or manage

the three babies are quite a handful