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
While throwing handfuls of laundry into the machine is fine for a basic load of whites, large or delicate items like comforters require a bit of TLC.
—
Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2025
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
Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handfuls
Noun
-
The kiss cam focused not on the attendees, but on couples plucked from Netflix’s various reality dating shows.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Lauren Jauregui’s journey on Dancing with the Stars came to an end Tuesday night, as the final three couples—Andy and Emma, Lauren and Brandon, Elaine and Alan—awaited their fate.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently noted that new graduates, younger workers, and minorities are struggling to find jobs right out of college.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The controversy concerns Saudi Arabia's poor human rights record characterized by brutal restrictions of freedom of expression and systemic discrimination against minorities and women.—
Jessica Wang,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Handfuls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handfuls. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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