Word Finder - handful

definition

The amount that a hand will grasp or contain.

definition

A hand's breadth; four inches.

definition

A small number, usually approximately five.

definition

A group or number of things; a bunch.

definition

Something which can only be managed with difficulty.

example

Those twins are a real handful to look after.

definition

A five-year prison sentence.

Why do you take up a handful of dirt?

He grabbed a handful of cookies and left.

He laughed and drank another handful of water.

Dusty warned me you were a handful, Sofi.

He tossed it on the bed and grabbed a handful of clothes then stuffed them in.

Most of the guests were Evelyn's friends and family; Romas's small party consisted of only a handful of men-- cousins, according to Evelyn-- looking like an NFL team dressed uncomfortably in their tuxes.

By the time Lana caught up, he'd had been lured into one of the buildings by a little girl with a handful of uncooked rice.

Kris sat beside her.  Hannah's skin had gone from pale to gray, and her features looked gaunt.  He couldn't help thinking Katie wouldn't survive a week down here if Hannah was suffering so badly after a day.  He touched Hannah's hair, revolted when a handful came off in his hand.

This was to the effect that Orlov was routed, Stakelberg's command much shaken, and at the same time Zarubayev in Liao-Yang, upon whom Oku and Nozu had pressed a last furious attack, reported that he had only a handful of troops still in reserve.

By taking a block of marble and carving a statue, or taking a handful of seed and growing a cornfield, you have combined your labor and know-how with something of little value and have created something of more value.

One of the kids handed her a handful of cotton balls while another put a doll in her lap.

A handful of people were building an annex onto one of the buildings with their hands rather than with the technological tools she'd seen create structures.

But no, these must be only a handful of scoundrels.

He grabbed a handful of her clothes from the suitcase and put them back in the drawer.

She pulled a handful of hay from under the tarp and fed it to the horse.

Only a handful of human minds can comprehend his work.

Agitated, she glanced down, then back-- kneeling to pull a handful of it free.

With a handful of men he opposed Sherman's march through the Carolinas, and at Bentonville, N.C., fought and almost won a most gallant and skilful battle against heavy odds.

Marmont and Mortier with what troops they could rally took up a position on Montmartre heights to oppose them, but seeing further resistance to be hopeless they gave way on the 31st of March, just as Napoleon, with the wreck of the Guards and a mere handful of other detachments, was hurrying across the rear of the Austrians towards Fontainebleau to join them.

The oath of fealty, which could be received by proxy, followed the act of homage; then came the ceremony of investiture, either directly on the ground or by the delivery of a turf, a handful of earth, a stone, or some other symbolical object.

Meanwhile Williams, amid endless difficulties, with a mere handful of men, had managed to keep the two factions from civil war, though fighting had actually occurred in Buddu and in the Sese Islands.

One man says, in his despair or indifference to life, take up a handful of the earth at your feet, and paint your house that color.

A small expedition sent by Cromwell in February 1654 to capture New Amsterdam (New York) from the Dutch was abandoned on the conclusion of peace, and the fleet turned to attack the French colonies; Major Robert Sedgwick taking with a handful of men the fort of St John's, Port Royal or Annapolis, and the French fort on the river Penobscot, the whole territory from this river to the mouth of the St Lawrence remaining British territory till its cession in 1667.

The Epitrope was at first nothing more than a handful of discontented politicians who had failed to find places in the administration, but some slight reverses which it succeeded in inflicting on the Turkish troops brought thousands of armed Christians to its side, and in April 1896 it found itself strong enough to invest the important garrison town of Vamos.

How far Edward's solicitude was disinterested may be gauged from Froissart's parallel remark about the battle of Aljubarrota, where, as at Agincourt, the handful of victors were obliged by a sudden panic to slay their prisoners.

A handful of men came galloping toward him.

She grabbed a handful of clothes from the drawer and threw them into the suitcase.

He grunted and stuffed another handful in.

Only a handful of people in the club were above college-aged, and it was in the wrong side of town for the trust-fund kids from Beverly Hills to stop in.

She grabbed a handful of beads and dumped them into the bin, stopping when the flash of red caught her attention.

The road is covered by the fortress of Malborgeth, where Captain Hensel with a handful of men met with a heroic death defending the place against an overwhelming French force in the campaign of 1809.

This insurrection gave birth to one of those wars in which a whole nation, destitute of pecuniary resources, military organization and skilful leaders, but familiar with the country, is opposed to a handful of soldiers advantageously posted and well officered.

The Aztecs settled there because of the security afforded by its islands and shallow waters - their city, Tenochtitlan, being so completely surrounded by water that a handful of warriors could easily defend its approaches against a greatly superior force.

The truth is, without doubt, that the dwellings of the lower classes were still built of reeds and mud, and covered the greater part of the city's area, otherwise it is impossible to understand how a mere handful of Spanish soldiers, without tools and explosives, could so easily have levelled it to the ground.

This shameful surrender led to a Catholic patriotic uprising, known as the Confederation of Bar, which was formed on the 29th of February 1768, at Bar in the Ukraine, by a handful of small squires.

This consists of one long narrow range of building, of which the eastern part formed the chapel and the western contained the apartments of the handful of monks of which it was the home.

Only a small handful of graves were adorned with flowers.

With the handful of songs he wrote while fronting Pink Floyd in 1966 and 1967, Barrett was at the forefront of British psychedelia.

A handful of female imams (priests), considered unthinkable in Islamic countries, are at the helm of this change.

Chill your Martini glass by placing a handful of ice inside it.

Keep reading for a handful of pranks you can use at your high school!

In addition to a letter or certificate indicating that you have taken the course, teens will also be sent home with a handful of materials made to help the course stick with them.

Prom may be one of only a handful of occasions in your life that you have this opportunity.

A handful of kids can enjoy an impromptu bowling party with these simple props.

Fear that a vegan diet is just a handful of nuts and fruits is happily unfounded.

The following are a handful of suggestions.

This city is also known for its covered bridges, clear lakes, majestic peaks and award-wining eating establishments, but for those who must avoid gluten, there are only a handful of gluten-free restaurants in Stowe, Vermont.

A great square was formed of the infantry, and a handful of cavalry joined them - the French cavalry, eager to avenge Gournay, had swept away the rest.

In 1875 he was given an important command in the expedition against Khokand under General Kaufmann, showing great capacity in the action of Makram, where he out-manoeuvred a greatly superior force and captured 58 guns, and in a brilliant night attack in the retreat from Andijan, when he routed a large force with a handful of cavalry.

Here too the imperial forces suffered defeat, Otto himself being saved only by the devotion of a handful of Saxon knights.