handful
[noun]
Synonyms: few, small number, smattering, sprinkling

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

hand‧ful /ˈhændfʊl/ noun
[Word Family: noun: hand, handful; adjective: underhand, handy; verb: hand; adverb: handily]

1. [countable] an amount that you can hold in your hand
handful of
The boy picked up a handful of stones and started throwing them at us.

2. a handful of something a very small number of people or things:
There were only a handful of people there.

3. be a handful informal someone, especially a child, who is a handful is difficult to control:
She’s a lovely child, but she can be a bit of a handful sometimes.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

handful
noun
I. amount that can be held in one hand
ADJ. good | double She bent and pulled up a double handful of weeds.
PREP. ~ of She grabbed handfuls of the dirty snow.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

handful
II. small number of people/things
ADJ. small, tiny | mere having to cope with a mere handful of staff
good He has a good handful of letters after his name.
PREP. ~ of a handful of people
PHRASES just/only a handful of sth We have received only a small handful of letters on this subject.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲