handfull

Noun

handful (plural handfuls or handsful)

1. The amount that a hand will grasp or contain.
   • 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...

   Synonyms:

   fistful

2. (obsolete) A hand's breadth; four inches.
   • 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...
3. A small number, usually approximately five.
   • 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)
4. A group or number of things; a bunch.
   • But, aunt, she must have had some kind of education, her accent was so pure, her English so unfaulty. The other girl dropped her h's by handfuls, and made some very wild confusion in her native etymology.1866, Emma Jane Worboise, “Ivy Cottage”, in Sir Julian’s Wife, London: Virtue Brothers and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 89–90
5. (informal) Something which can only be managed with difficulty.
   • Those twins are a real handful to look after.
6. (slang) A five-year prison sentence.