Word.ws English Dictionary

panhandler

UK/ˈpæn.hænd.lə(ɹ)/

panhandler noun: one who panhandles; an urban beggar who typically stands on a street with an outstretched container in hand, begging for loose change or money.

Noun

panhandler (plural panhandlers)

  1. One who panhandles; an urban beggar who typically stands on a street with an outstretched container in hand, begging for loose change or money.

Forms of panhandler

pluralpanhandlers

Origin of panhandler

Obscure. Speculative. Panhandling always seems to involve a container for receiving loose change, so perhaps the term refers to a small handled pan, or to the container as the pan and the arm(s) holding it as the handle. Alternatively, possibly from the notion that the shape of one's outstretched arm in relation to a seated or squatting beggar brings to mind the image of a panhandle.

Questions about panhandler

What does panhandler mean?
Panhandler means one who panhandles; an urban beggar who typically stands on a street with an outstretched container in hand, begging for loose change or money.
What part of speech is panhandler?
Panhandler is a noun.
How do you pronounce panhandler?
Panhandler is pronounced /ˈpæn.hænd.lə(ɹ)/ (UK).
What is the plural of panhandler?
The plural of panhandler is panhandlers.

Words near panhandler in the dictionary

  1. panhandle
  2. Panhandle State
  3. panhandle track
  4. panhandle tracks
  5. panhandled
  6. panhandler
  7. panhandlers
  8. panhandles
  9. panhandling
  10. panhandlings
  11. Panhard

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: panhandler (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “panhandler.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/panhandler. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.