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
-
Alexe and Andrew and Spencer and Jess are the final two couples and Spencer and Jess do get engaged in the finale.—
Dina Kaur,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The next morning, the remaining couples pack up and prepare to leave paradise.—
Kristen Baldwin September 2,
EW.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Iran, by far the world’s largest Shiite-majority country, encouraged these groups—mostly Shiite minorities—by scouting them, nurturing the most promising, and building trust and fellow feeling.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
-
As many as 11 percent of eligible voters do not have the kind of ID that is required by states with strict ID requirements, and that percentage is even higher among seniors, minorities, people with disabilities, low-income voters, and students.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Handfuls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handfuls. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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