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fistful

American  
[fist-fool] / ˈfɪst fʊl /

noun

plural

fistfuls

  1. a handful.

    a fistful of pennies.

Spelling

See -ful.

Etymology

Origin of fistful

First recorded in 1605–15; fist 1 + -ful

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Grace reached into a drawer, grabbed a fistful of Ugandan shilling notes, and handed over the cash.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

Banks, investment funds, governments, and insurance companies bought them by the fistful.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

Out of Africa won a fistful of awards, but Havana was badly received and lost money at the box office.

From BBC • Sep. 16, 2025

Van de Lagemaat couldn’t just reach into the sea for a fistful of rocks to prove Pontus was real and as massive as predicted.

From Salon • Oct. 26, 2023

Pass him in the corridor and he is fishing potato crisps out of a bag by the fistful.

From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.