How do you use the word "handful" in a sentence?

Q: How do you use the word "handful" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "handful": There are a handful of naughty boys in my neighborhood. Only a handful of people came to the meeting.

Handful Meaning

/ˈhæn(d)fʊl/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounThe amount that a hand will grasp or contain.

nounA hand's breadth; four inches.

Sentence Examples

There are a handful of naughty boys in my neighborhood.

Only a handful of people came to the meeting.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

smattering

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

There were only a ____ of people at the meeting.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The child picked up a ____ of colorful shells from the sandy beach.

Word Origin & History

From Middle English handful, hondful, from Old English handfull (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handufullō, *handufulliz (“handful”), from Proto-Germanic *handuz (“hand”) + *fullaz (“full”); equivalent to hand + full (“fullness, plenty”) or hand + -ful. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hondful (“handful”), West Frisian hânfol (“handful”), Dutch handvol (“handful”), German Handvoll (“handful”), Danish håndfuld (“handful”), Swedish handfull (“handful”), Icelandic handfylli (“handful”).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"I put two or three corns in my mouth, liked it, stole a handful, went into my chamber, chewed it, and for two months after never failed taking toll of every pennyworth of oatmeal that came into the house: […]" — 1712 July 25 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “MONDAY, July 15, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 431; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 130:

"Knap the tongs together about a handful from the bottom." — 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

"This handful of men were tied to very hard duty." — 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):

"The names of a number of the most famous North American railroads could be found in the north-east; Pennsylvania, New York Central, Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio, and the Norfolk & Western, to name but a handful." — 1985, Rodger Bradley, Amtrak: The US National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Blandford Press, page 92:

"You tell me the velocity of a baseball as it leaves Derek Jeter's bat, and I can use the laws of physics to calculate where it will land a handful of seconds later." — 2005 April 8, Brian Greene, “One Hundred Years of Uncertainty”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 09 Mar 2021:

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