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 of handful

• few
• couple

Examples of handful in a Sentence

The children collected seashells by the handful.

Our dog is a real handful.

Recent Examples on the Web

While Jaquez did not provide the eye-popping scoring of some of her teammates, the wing brought a cool effectiveness to the defensive side of the ball while tallying a pair of assists and a handful of deflections. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2026

Submitting requests to a handful of data broker sites only limits exposure temporarily, and those same sites can relist your details as public records refresh. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026

The loss drops Miami to 17-22 on the season and 2-6 through eight games of this 10-game homestand — including 0-5 in the handful of games in which Marlins players made MLB debuts. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 9 May 2026

The most immediate points of stress are in a handful of fuel-import-reliant countries in Asia, with traders pointing to Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan and the Philippines as the biggest worries, potentially hitting critical levels of supplies in as little as a month. —Grant Smith, Fortune, 9 May 2026

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