handful

英 [ˈhændfʊl]

美 [ˈhændfʊl]

n. 一把(的量); 用手抓起的数量; 少数人(或物); 难以控制的人(或动物)

复数：handfuls　

Collins.2 / BNC.4262 / COCA.3109

牛津词典

noun

一把（的量）；用手抓起的数量
the amount of sth that can be held in one hand
1. a handful of rice
  一把米
少数人（或物）
a small number of people or things
1. Only a handful of people came.
  只有少数几个人来了。
难以控制的人（或动物）
a person or an animal that is difficult to control
1. Her children can be a real handful.
  她的孩子们有时很难管教。

N-SING 几个;少数
Ahandful ofpeople or things is a small number of them.
1. He surveyed the handful of customers at the bar...
  他打量着吧台那边零星的几个顾客。
2. One spring morning a handful of potential investors assembled in Quincy.
  春天的一个早上，几位有望投资者聚集在昆西。
N-COUNT 一把
Ahandful ofsomething is the amount of it that you can hold in your hand.
1. She scooped up a handful of sand and let it trickle through her fingers.
  她抓起一把沙子，让它从指缝里一点点漏下来。
N-SING 难管的人（尤指孩子）
If you say that someone, especially a child, is ahandful, you mean that they are difficult to control.
1. Zara can be a handful sometimes.
  扎拉有时很难管教。

noun

the quantity that can be held in the hand
Synonym:fistful
a small number or amount
1. only a handful of responses were received
Synonym:smattering

Only a handful had returned to work in the immediate vicinity
仅有几个人回到临近地区工作。
Only a handful of military commanders and tacticians have ever achieved this rigorous certification.
只有少数的军事指挥官和谋士曾经达到这一严格的认证。
A few slices of bread and a handful of raisins satisfied him at noon.
他中午只吃几片面包和一把葡萄干，就心满意足了。
Beyond those books and a handful of newspaper clippings and magazine stories, winter has nothing.
除了那些书和少数报章剪辑以及杂志报道以外，温特一无所有。
They constitute but a handful of the number.
他们只不过是其中的一小撮。
Frank emptied a handful of loose change on the table
弗兰克将一把零钱撒在桌子上。
Only a handful of governments in the world have banned free plastic bags.
世界上只有为数不多的几个国家和地区的政府禁止使用塑料袋。
Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them.
罗杰捡了一把石子，扔了起来。
Only a handful of people were dead set on following him.
死心塌地跟他走的只是一小撮。
Zara can be a handful sometimes.
扎拉有时很难管教。