hand ‧ ful /ˈhændfʊl/ BrE AmE 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.