Definitions for HANDFUL
ˈhænd fʊlhand·ful

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 2 votes

1. handful, smatteringnoun

   a small number or amount

   "only a handful of responses were received"

2. handful, fistfulnoun

   the quantity that can be held in the hand

GCIDERate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. handfulnoun

   A person, task, or situation, which is the most that one can manage; as, my two-year-old is a handful.

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. handfulnoun

   As much as the hand will grasp or contain. - Joseph Addison

2. handfulnoun

   A hand's breadth; four inches.

   Knap the tongs together about a handful from the bottom. - Francis Bacon

3. handfulnoun

   A small quantity, usually approximately equal to five, the number of fingers on a hand.

   This handful of men were tied to very hard duty. - Fuller

4. handfulnoun

   Something which can only be managed with difficulty.

   Those twins are a real handful to look after.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Handfulnoun

   Etymology: hand and full.

   1. As much as the hand can gripe or contain.

   In the park I saw a country gentleman at the side of Rosamond’s pond, pulling a handful of oats out of his pocket, and gathering the ducks about him. Freeholder, №. 44.

   2. A palm; a hand’s breadth; four inches.

   Take one vessel of silver and another of wood, each full of water, and knap the tongs together about an handful from the bottom, and the sound will be more resounding from the vessel of silver than that of wood. Francis Bacon, Natural History.

   The peaceful scabbard where it dwelt,
   The rancour of its edge had felt;
   For of the lower end two handful
   It had devour’d, it was so manful. Hudibras, p. i.

   3. A small number or quantity.

   Being in possession of the town, they had their handful to defend themselves from firing. Walter Raleigh, Apology.

   He could not, with such a handful of men, and without cannon, propose reasonably to fight a battle. Edward Hyde.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. handful

   A handful generally refers to the amount or number of something that can fit or be held in one hand. It can also be used figuratively to describe a person, task, or situation that is difficult to manage or control.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Handfulnoun

   as much as the hand will grasp or contain

2. Handfulnoun

   a hand's breadth; four inches

3. Handfulnoun

   a small quantity

4. Etymology: [AS. handfull.]

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. handful

   Used figuratively, in a military sense, to denote a comparatively small number; as, “a handful of men.”

Matched Categories

1. • Containerful
   • Small Indefinite Quantity

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'HANDFUL' in Nouns Frequency: #2326

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce HANDFUL?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say HANDFUL in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of HANDFUL in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of HANDFUL in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of HANDFUL in a Sentence

1. Michael Watkins:

   The Wright brothers only had a handful of eyewitnesses to their first flight, but the historic moment was thankfully captured in a great photograph, now 117 years later, we are able to provide a wonderful opportunity to share the results of the first attempt at powered, controlled flight on another world via our robotic photographers on Mars.

2. Matt Kaufler:

   Years of inventory that they can exploit going forward in a low cost fashion is certainly better than just having a handful of years.

3. Nick Dykes:

   We think there are only a handful of the transitional card in the world, maybe four or five, this is certainly the first one I have sold.

4. Karen Crawford:

   I have never seen anything like it before. The squirrel had its paw raised and the bird had its beak wide open, it was like they were going to have a fight. Karen Crawford, 59, captured the face-off as the pair appeared to be having a row over a handful of nuts on a tree trunk. In the shot, the red squirrel is perched vertically on a tree stump with its paw in the air, as the bird sits on the other side with its beak wide open. (Credit: SWNS) Perhaps even more remarkable, Crawford admitted she did not even realize she took the photos until she got home. I thought wow when I got home and saw the picture and the reaction I have had to it has been really strong.

5. Sundeep Dosanjh:

   Following the conclusion of Whitney High School’s Inclusion Week that took place last week, the Associated Student Body (ASB) student leaders participated in a group photo to show school unity. Some students wore stickers that they received from a handful of school-sanctioned clubs, these stickers included symbols of the clubs and were removed from the group photo with the goal of honoring the group of ASB students without any other club affiliation in the spirit of equity, inclusivity and school unity.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=HANDFUL
2. ^ GCIDE
   https://gcide.gnu.org.ua/?q=HANDFUL
3. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Handful
4. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=HANDFUL
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/HANDFUL
7. ^ Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=HANDFUL