Handkerchief Meaning
/ˈhæŋkəːt͡ʃɪf/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA piece of cloth, usually square and often fine and elegant, carried for wiping the face, eyes, nose or hands.
nounA piece of cloth shaped like a handkerchief to be worn about the neck; a neckerchief or neckcloth.
Sentence Examples
This handkerchief didn't wash clean.
This handkerchief is made of paper.
I went to sleep with a handkerchief over my face.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He pulled out a clean ____ from his pocket to wipe his nose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He pulled a clean white ____ out of his pocket to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Word Origin & History
From hand + kerchief.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Mr. Banks’ panama hat was in one hand, while the other drew a handkerchief across his perspiring brow."
— 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
"Harriet, who was as a rule good at handkerchiefs, discovered to her annoyance that on this particular morning she had provided herself only with an elegant square of linen, suitable for receiving such rare and joyful drops as might be expected on one’s honeymoon. Peter came to the rescue with what might have been a young flag of truce."
— 1937, Dorothy L. Sayers, Busman's Honeymoon:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He pulled out a clean ____ from his pocket to wipe his nose.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He pulled a clean white ____ out of his pocket to wipe the sweat from his forehead.