variants
also handsful
as in couples
a small number
only a handful of people signed up for the wintertime hike
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Recent Examples of handfuls
Cafe Lux employees have had to hide the cards – normally in a stack at the maître d’ stand — lest patrons take handfuls.
—
Rima Suqi, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Before the inevitable return to any-season bloody marys, grab a few ripe, heavy handfuls and get shaking.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
This can cause hair shedding in large handfuls about a month after high stress.
—Carley Millhone, Health, 4 Aug. 2025
When cooking the sauce, add in frozen peppers and onions, corn, or even a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves.
—Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Mar. 2025
The ornithology curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County placed handfuls of feathers between two small screens and clipped them together with zip ties.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2025
Per tradition, the attendees threw three handfuls of fresh soil into the grave.
—Yurii Shyvala, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Turing evidently helped himself to large handfuls of red forms, scrawling out screeds of notes about Delilah on the blank reverse sides.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 Feb. 2025
Then there are the shoes, the manure, even thousands of dollars in cash (which alert bystanders scooped up and ran off with handfuls, by the way).
—Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2025
Rima Suqi, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Before the inevitable return to any-season bloody marys, grab a few ripe, heavy handfuls and get shaking.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
This can cause hair shedding in large handfuls about a month after high stress.
—Carley Millhone, Health, 4 Aug. 2025
When cooking the sauce, add in frozen peppers and onions, corn, or even a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves.
—Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Mar. 2025
The ornithology curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County placed handfuls of feathers between two small screens and clipped them together with zip ties.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2025
Per tradition, the attendees threw three handfuls of fresh soil into the grave.
—Yurii Shyvala, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Turing evidently helped himself to large handfuls of red forms, scrawling out screeds of notes about Delilah on the blank reverse sides.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 Feb. 2025
Then there are the shoes, the manure, even thousands of dollars in cash (which alert bystanders scooped up and ran off with handfuls, by the way).
—Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handfuls
Noun
-
These aren’t newlyweds; these couples have been together for decades!—
Mary Clements Evans,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Among the deceased were retirees, newlyweds, elderly couples, young families and transplants from New York and Latin America.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Suddenly, corporate policies explicitly designed to recruit or retain a broad range of talents with a focus on increasing the appeal to women and minorities were not only under scrutiny but also risked legal penalties.—
C200,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Bases have been renamed, transgender soldiers have been banned and military websites have been scrubbed of posts honoring contributions by women and minorities.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Handfuls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handfuls. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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