handful

英['hæn(d)fʊl;-f(ə)l] 美['hænd,fʊl]
  • n. 少数;一把;棘手事

词态变化


复数: handfuls;

英文词源


handful (n.)
Old English handful "as much as can be held in the open hand;" see hand (n.) + -ful. Also a linear measurement of four inches, a handbreadth (early 15c.). Meaning "a small portion or part" is from mid-15c. Figurative meaning "as much as one can manage" is from 1755; figurative expression have (one's) hands full "have enough to do" is from late 15c. Plural handfulls. Similar formation in German handvoll, Danish haanfuld.

双语例句


1. Only a handful had returned to work in the immediate vicinity.
仅有几个人回到临近地区工作。

来自柯林斯例句

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。

来自柯林斯例句

3. A handful of onlookers stand in the field watching.
少数几个旁观者站在现场观看。

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4. He surveyed the handful of custo-mers at the bar.
他打量着吧台那边零星的几个顾客。

来自柯林斯例句

5. Steve barely said a handful of words during the first half hour.
史蒂夫在前半小时里没说几句话.

来自柯林斯例句