The Collaborative International Dictionary
handful \hand"ful\ (h[a^]nd"f[.u]l), n.; pl. handfuls (h[a^]nd"f[.u]lz). [AS. handfull.]
As much as the hand will grasp or contain.
--Addison.-
A hand's breadth; four inches. [Obs.]
Knap the tongs together about a handful from the bottom.
--Bacon. -
A small quantity or number.
This handful of men were tied to very hard duty.
--Fuller. -
A person, task, or situation, which is the most that one can manage; as, my two-year-old is a handful.
To have one's handful, to have one's hands full; to have all one can do. [Obs.]
They had their handful to defend themselves from firing.
--Sir. W. Raleigh.
Wiktionary
n. (plural of handful English)
Usage examples of "handfuls".
Lunzie nibbled on the fruit and took handfuls of salty nut snacks from the baskets in the centre of their table to cut the sugary taste.
Joat grabbed handfuls of cloth at wrist and shoulder and pulled the attacker forward, redirecting his force and hip-checking him into a sideways stagger.
She paused long enough at the separating hedge to pick up handfuls of stones.
Ditsy said, kneeling down to scoop up handfuls of the coins that spilled out, and the larger oddments that had been disclosed.
She allowed herself to sound peevish as she snapped quick handfuls off the nearest bush, piling them for him to pack.
Grabbing handfuls of the grasses on the lip of the cliff, she began to let herself slowly down.
Menolly and Piemur spoke the customary reassurance in chorus, grinning at each other as they reached for handfuls of meat scraps.
He had then glided home, emitting an occasional satisfied burp so that Jaxom could eat a more substantial meal than the handfuls of berries he had found in the bushes surrounding the field.
She ripped at her fur, screeching, and scattered handfuls of it around the disintegrating nest.
When she had the pants off she used handfuls of leaves to clean Sally up as best she could, and covered her with her own T-shirt, briskly stripped off.
The area around was scattered with debris, animal bones, abandoned tools, cobbles scooped from the hut floor, and handfuls of ashes.
Imagine that the Red Moon with its blue Wheel portals scooped up handfuls of undifferentiated Australopithecines and, perhaps some generations later, deposited them on a variety of subtly different Earths.
They pushed them into great piles, and rolled in the leaves, throwing handfuls over their heads and rubbing them against their faces.
The hive was abandoned, but there were whole handfuls of delicious honey to be had inside it.
They immediately rushed to their sister's side and, with screeches, bared teeth, and handfuls of thrown leaves, drove Noth's father away.