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

With that, Zoox will soon go up against Waymo – which has been around for a while now and is partnering with Uber to operate in a handful of US cities. —New Atlas, 20 June 2025

Quiver Distribution’s Australian prison drama Inside, the directorial debut of Charles Williams, starring Guy Pearce, Cosmo Jarvis and Vincent Miller, opens at the Lumiere in L, a handful of locations in NY Boston, Cleveland and Minneapolis, and on demand. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 20 June 2025

However, Barco’s HDR format is only available in a handful of US theaters, but, as per its recent announcement, 25 more are on their way by the end of the year. —Benny Har-Even, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025

The Trump administration has already charged a handful of defendants with terrorism offenses since designating CJNG and seven other Latin American crime organizations as FTOs in February. —CBS News, 20 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for handful

• brimful
• mouthful
• roomful
• spoonful
• full
• pull
• wool

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