handbasket
noun
hand·bas·ket
ˈhan(d)-ˌba-skət 
: a small portable basket
—usually used in the phrase to hell in a handbasket denoting rapid and utter ruination
Examples of handbasket in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There’s plenty of hell-in-a-handbasket rhetoric about young people today.
—
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 23 Feb. 2025
Everything has gone to hell in a handbasket as a result of it.
—NBC News, 6 Oct. 2024
If the purpose of this essay were to merely shout at the heavens, proclaiming that the world is going to hell in a handbasket because of rampant biblical illiteracy on Earth, many may be tempted to dismiss my concerns — flippantly enough.
—Luther Ray Abel, National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
At least as much as an unemployed football coach and his hell-in-a-handbasket Mayberry RFD nostalgia.
—al, 10 Dec. 2019
On the 1st hole, a gone-to-hell-in-a-handbasket iron plops down in the second cut.
—Jack McCallum, SI.com, 27 June 2018
Theft, West Bagley Road: Police hope to identify and arrest a man who stole a handbasket filled with merchandise at about 3:45 p.m. July 24 from Dollar General, 390 West Bagley Road.
—Bob Sandrick, cleveland.com, 27 July 2017
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 23 Feb. 2025
Everything has gone to hell in a handbasket as a result of it.
—NBC News, 6 Oct. 2024
If the purpose of this essay were to merely shout at the heavens, proclaiming that the world is going to hell in a handbasket because of rampant biblical illiteracy on Earth, many may be tempted to dismiss my concerns — flippantly enough.
—Luther Ray Abel, National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
At least as much as an unemployed football coach and his hell-in-a-handbasket Mayberry RFD nostalgia.
—al, 10 Dec. 2019
On the 1st hole, a gone-to-hell-in-a-handbasket iron plops down in the second cut.
—Jack McCallum, SI.com, 27 June 2018
Theft, West Bagley Road: Police hope to identify and arrest a man who stole a handbasket filled with merchandise at about 3:45 p.m. July 24 from Dollar General, 390 West Bagley Road.
—Bob Sandrick, cleveland.com, 27 July 2017
Cite this Entry
“Handbasket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/handbasket. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share