How to use handbag in a sentence

37 example sentences · noun, verb

Handbag means a small bag carried in the hand, used either when travelling or to carry tools for a specific job. Example: “That handbag is a copy. You can tell because the buckle is different.”

Examples of handbag by meaning

nounA small bag used chiefly by women for carrying various small personal items, sometimes considered as a fashion...

An enormous amount of off-book money sloshes around Chinese business and officialdom, and some of it runs into handbags.2013, James Palmer, ‘Kept women’, Aeon
In London, of all places, where people are always on the lookout for opportunities to commit crimes: an unzipped handbag, a phone sticking out of a back pocket, an unpadlocked bike.2020, Jess Ryder, The Night Away

verbTo attack verbally or subject to criticism (typically used of a woman).

Virginia saw him and handbagged him.1995, Nicholas Jones, Soundbites and Spin Doctors, London: Cassell, →ISBN, page 202
My favourite part of the whole day was being handbagged by a reader who was quivering with rage and said, ‘You've changed everything!’ and complained about everything, even how easy the crossword was, as Dower filmed every foam-flecked word.2010, Rachel Johnson, A Diary of the Lady, London: Fig Tree, →ISBN, page 168

More sentences with handbag

That handbag is a copy. You can tell because the buckle is different.From the entry copy
That handbag is hers. These gloves are also hers.From the entry hers
She cracked him over the head with her handbag.From the entry crack
After snatching my handbag he just legged it.From the entry leg it
She was brazen enough to deny stealing the handbag even though she was caught on camera doing so.From the entry brazen
The handbag looks nice, but shopworn.From the entry shopworn
Person C: Ooh - handbags ladies!From the entry handbags
It takes me several minutes to find my handbag in the tornadoesque mess that's my new home.2018, Alana Terry, Orchard Grove Christian Women's Fiction Box Set (Books 1-3). From the entry tornadoesque
The handbags have come out after a diplomatic argument between Israel and Brazil got, well, very personal.2014, Oliver Wheaton, Metro, 26 Jul 2014, “Handbags: Israel has dig at Brazil’s 7-1 World Cup defeat after diplomatic row over Gaza bombing”. From the entry the handbags come out
Not in an all-black, yuppity, Coach handbag kind of way, but in a distinctly Mercyx way.2011, James Bernard Frost, A Very Minor Prophet, Hawthorne Books, →ISBN, page 65. From the entry yuppity
She asked Denise for the court file, which she fussed from her handbag.2005, Al Lovejoy, Acid Alex, →ISBN, page 98. From the entry peruse
Her arms and legs are unIslamically bare, and she is trailing an inevitable handbag.1989, John Simpson, Behind Iranian Lines, page 80. From the entry unislamically
Master leathercrafter does handcrafted wallets, belts, purses, handbags etc., supporting self and helpers.1987 August 15, Robert Benitez, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 5, page 14. From the entry belt
I’ve got so many magnets on my fridge, if I hold my handbag too close, it wipes my points card.2013, Brendan O’Carroll, Michael Joseph, “Room by Room”, in Mrs. Brown’s Family Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Ruining Your Home &…. From the entry fridgie
He did a little zombie dance, and sang a little zombie song, and made some jokes about handbags.2012, Stephen Jones, Zombie Apocalypse! Fightback. From the entry zombie dance
She didn't even have her handbag, because Zelda had thoughtfully left it in the kitchen along with her clothes.2010, Jill Mansell, Millie's Fling, →ISBN. From the entry shame
When she went indoors to collect her handbag, Paul thanked his stars that Peter Frampton should prove to be a cheap-skate.2010, M. C. Beaton, Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House, →ISBN. From the entry cheap-skate
An obsession with designer handbags, at ever-spiralling prices, became a phenomenon of the mid-noughties, driven principally by Louis Vuitton.2009, Brenda Polan, Roger Tredre, The Great Fashion Designers, page 237. From the entry noughties
Noris, the Central American counterwoman, complimented me on my handbag — a simple black patent thing by an obscure designer.2008 April 17, Cintra Wilson, “Little Hedge Fund on the Prairie”, in New York Times. From the entry counterwoman
The blinding lights seen on Fifth and Madison Avenues are mirrorlike silver and gold daytime handbags from Louis Vuitton.2007 February 4, Bill Cunningham, “Dazzlers”, in New York Times. From the entry mirrorlike
He's serious eye-candy, and does service as a social handbag.2007, Helen Bianchin, The Marriage Possession, page 42. From the entry social handbag
He made a grab for me and I swung my handbag at him as hard as I could.2003, J Davey, Six Years of Darkness, Trafford Publishing, page 66. From the entry grab
Hair brushed back, legs oiled, new dresses and pressed pleats, fresh pocket handkerchiefs and little handbags, all homesewn.1969, Maya Angelou, chapter 23, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, New York: Bantam, published 1971, page 149. From the entry homesewn
She carried a small hatchet in her handbag.1954 September 6, “SEQUELS: Another Life”, in Time. From the entry thrill killer
Experiments also are being made in using the skin of sea catfish in producing fancy goods such as handbags and portfolios.1948 November 15, “Footwear from codskin, Poland. Leather and Related Products [column]”, in Foreign Commerce Weekly, volume 33, number 7…. From the entry codskin
I found a handbag on the main bed and a second bloodstained face washer on the slow combustion stove in the lounge room.2011, Peter Baines, Hands Across the Water, →ISBN. From the entry face washer
WHY YOU GO THERE Huge fetishizable handbags, subtle jokes, hypnotic jacquard and luscious natural fibers perversely tricked out to look like cheap petroleum knockoffs.2007 August 2, Cintra Wilson, “Prada’s Sassy Sister Knows How to Party”, in New York Times. From the entry fetishizable
They present a wide range of dance styles, including electro, trance, acid house, handbag, hardbag, hardcore, happy hardcore, drum-and-bass, hi-NRG and even industrial.2003, Aline Scott-Maxwell, John Whiteoak, Currency companion to music and dance in Australia. From the entry hardbag
I plunder in my handbag for my purse but he says, “It’s on the house.” I was so glad of the cup of tea and lovely Pavlova.2015, Margaret Cameron, “The Escapee Granny”, in Original Writing from Ireland’s Own: An Anthology of the Best Stories from the Annual…. From the entry pavlova
In Downing Street there was urgent fury, and it was coming from Margaret Thatcher, ready to give a handbagging to anyone who got in her way.2014 November 10, Jon Sopel, “And then Ron said to Maggie”, in BBC News. From the entry handbagging
A fat woman in a birdsnest hat and white canvas shoes run over at the heels and clutching a white imitation leather handbag, strained forward behind the officer.1939, Irene Baird, Waste Heritage, Toronto, Ont.: Macmillan of Canada, published 1974, →ISBN, page 19. From the entry birdsnest
I think the short answer is that six weeks ago the Prime Minister was promising his Back Benchers a handbagging for Europe, but now he is reduced to hand wringing.2011 December 7, Ed Miliband, “Engagements”, in Hansard, volume 537, House of Commons. From the entry handbagging
There are no bodyside parcels racks, but a slatted shelf is provided at the base of each chair, under the seat, for light articles such as brief cases or handbags.1960 April, “Restaurant cars and multiple-units”, in Trains Illustrated, page 222. From the entry bodyside

Meaning of handbag

noun A small bag carried in the hand, used either when travelling or to carry tools for a specific job.
noun A small bag used chiefly by women for carrying various small personal items, sometimes considered as a fashion accessory.
verb To attack verbally or subject to criticism (typically used of a woman).

Full definition of handbag

Questions about handbag in a sentence

How do you use handbag in a sentence?: Handbag is used as a noun and verb. For example: “That handbag is a copy. You can tell because the buckle is different.”
What is a short sentence with handbag?: “Person C: Ooh - handbags ladies!”
What does handbag mean?: Handbag means a small bag carried in the hand, used either when travelling or to carry tools for a specific job.

Adapted from Wiktionary: handbag (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use handbag in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/handbag. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.