handbag

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hand·bag

(hănd′băg′)

1. A purse.

2. A piece of small hand luggage.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

handbag

(ˈhændˌbæɡ)

1. (Clothing & Fashion) Also called: bag, purse (US and Canadian) or pocketbook (chiefly US)a woman's small bag carried to contain personal articles

2. (Clothing & Fashion) a small suitcase that can be carried by hand

3. (Music, other) a commercial style of House music

[(for sense 3) C20: humorous allusion to the trend for groups of women to dance round their handbags in discos, nightclubs, etc]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hand•bag

(ˈhændˌbæg)

n.

1. a bag or case carried in the hand or by a handle or strap and commonly used by women to hold money, cosmetics, etc.

2. valise.

[1860–65]

handbag

purse

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

handbag - a container used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women); "she reached into her bag and found a comb"

purse, bag, pocketbook

clasp - a fastener (as a buckle or hook) that is used to hold two things together

clutch bag, clutch - a woman's strapless purse that is carried in the hand

container - any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another)

etui - small ornamental ladies' bag for small articles

evening bag - a handbag used with evening wear

reticule - a woman's drawstring handbag; usually made of net or beading or brocade; used in 18th and 19th centuries

shoulder bag - a large handbag that can be carried by a strap looped over the shoulder

handbag

noun bag, purse (U.S.), pocketbook (U.S.) the foldaway cup that fits into your handbag or pocket

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

حَقِيبَةُ اليَدّحَقيبَة سَفَر

kabelka

håndtaske

käsilaukku

torbica

handtaska

borsa borsetta

ハンドバッグ

핸드백

handtas

håndveske dameveske

torebka damska

bolsa de mão mala de mão

сумочка

ročna torbica

handväska

กระเป๋าถือ

çantael çantası

túi xách

手提包手袋

handbag

[ˈhændbæg]

A. N → bolso m (de mano), bolsa f (de mano), cartera f (LAm)

B. VT → poner fuera de combate a golpe de bolso, eliminar a bolsazos

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

handbag

[ˈhændbæg] n → sac m à mainhand baggage n → bagages mpl à main
one item of hand baggage → un bagage à main

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

handbag

[ˈhændˌbæg] n → borsa, borsetta

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

hand

(hӕnd) noun

1. the part of the body at the end of the arm.

2. a pointer on a clock, watch etc. Clocks usually have an hour hand and a minute hand.

3. a person employed as a helper, crew member etc. a farm hand; All hands on deck!

4. help; assistance. Can I lend a hand?; Give me a hand with this box, please.

5. a set of playing-cards dealt to a person. I had a very good hand so I thought I had a chance of winning.

6. a measure (approximately centimetres) used for measuring the height of horses. a horse of 14 hands.

7. handwriting. written in a neat hand.

verb

(often with back, ~down, ~up etc).

1. to give (something) to someone by hand. I handed him the book; He handed it back to me; I'll go up the ladder, and you can hand the tools up to me.

2. to pass, transfer etc into another's care etc. That is the end of my report from Paris. I'll now hand you back to Fred Smith in the television studio in London.

ˈhandful noun

1. as much as can be held in one hand. a handful of sweets.

2. a small number. Only a handful of people came to the meeting.

3. a person etc difficult to control. Her three children are a (bit of a) handful.

ˈhandbag noun

(American usually purse) a small bag carried by women, for personal belongings.

ˈhandbill noun

a small printed notice.

ˈhandbook noun

a small book giving information about (how to do) something. a handbook of European birds; a bicycle-repair handbook.

ˈhandbrake noun

(in a car, bus etc) a brake operated by the driver's hand.

ˈhandcuff verb

to put handcuffs on (a person). The police handcuffed the criminal.

ˈhandcuffs noun plural

steel rings, joined by a short chain, put round the wrists of prisoners. a pair of handcuffs.

ˈhand-lens noun

a magnifying-glass held in the hand.

ˌhandˈmade adjective

made with a person's hands or with tools held in the hands, rather than by machines. hand-made furniture.

hand-ˈoperated adjective

hand-operated switches.

ˈhand-outhand outbelowˌhand-ˈpicked adjective

chosen very carefully. a hand-picked team of workers.

ˈhandshake noun

the act of grasping (a person's) hand eg as a greeting.

ˈhandstand noun

the gymnastic act of balancing one's body upright in the air with one's hands on the ground.

ˈhandwriting noun

1. writing with a pen or pencil. Today we will practise handwriting.

2. the way in which a person writes. Your handwriting is terrible!

ˈhandwritten adjective

The letter was handwritten, not typed.

at hand

1. (with close or near) near. The bus station is close at hand.

2. available. Help is at hand.

at the hands of

from, or by the action of. He received very rough treatment at the hands of the terrorists.

be hand in glove (with someone)

to be very closely associated with someone, especially for a bad purpose.

by hand

1. with a person's hand or tools held in the hands, rather than with machinery. furniture made by hand.

2. not by post but by a messenger etc. This parcel was delivered by hand.

fall into the hands (of someone)

to be caught, found, captured etc by someone. He fell into the hands of bandits; The documents fell into the wrong hands (= were found, captured etc by someone who was not supposed to see them).

force someone's hand

to force someone to do something either which he does not want to do or sooner than he wants to do it.

get one's hands on

1. to catch. If I ever get my hands on him, I'll make him sorry for what he did!

2. to get or obtain. I'd love to get my hands on a car like that.

give/lend a helping hand

to help or assist. I'm always ready to give/lend a helping hand.

hand down

to pass on from one generation to the next. These customs have been handed down from father to son since the Middle Ages.

hand in

to give or bring to a person, place etc. The teacher told the children to hand in their exercise-books.

hand in hand

with one person holding the hand of another. The boy and girl were walking along hand in hand; Poverty and crime go hand in hand.

hand on

to give to someone. When you have finished reading these notes, hand them on to me.

hand out

to give to several people; to distribute. The teacher handed out books to all the pupils; They were handing out leaflets in the street.

hand-out noun

a leaflet.

handout noun

1. a leaflet or a copy of a piece of paper with information given to students in class, distributed at a meeting etc. You'll find the diagram on page four of your handout.

2. money, clothes etc given to a very poor person or a beggar.

hand over

to give or pass; to surrender. We know you have the jewels, so hand them over; They handed the thief over to the police.

hand over fist

in large amounts, usually quickly. He's making money hand over fist.

hands down

very easily. You'll win hands down.

hands off!

do not touch!.

hands-on adjective

practical; involving active participation. hands-on experience with computers.

hands up!

raise your hands above your head. `Hands up!' shouted the gunman.

hand to hand with one individual fighting another at close quarters: The soldiers fought the enemy hand to hand; () adjective (etc)

hand-to-hand fighting.

have a hand in (something)

to be one of the people who have caused, done etc (something). Did you have a hand in the building of this boat / in the success of the project?

have/get/gain the upper hand

to (begin to) win, beat the enemy etc. The enemy made a fierce attack but failed to get the upper hand.

hold hands (with someone)

to be hand in hand with someone. The boy and girl walked along holding hands (with each other).

in good hands

receiving care and attention. The patient is in good hands.

in hand

1. not used etc; remaining. We still have $10 in hand.

2. being dealt with. We have received your complaint and the matter is now in hand.

in the hands of

being dealt with by. This matter is now in the hands of my solicitor.

keep one's hand in

to remain good or skilful at doing something by doing it occasionally. I still sometimes play a game of billiards, just to keep my hand in.

off one's hands

no longer needing to be looked after etc. You'll be glad to get the children off your hands for a couple of weeks.

on hand

near; present; ready for use etc. We always keep some candles on hand in case there's a power failure.

(on the one hand) … on the other hand

an expression used to introduce two opposing parts of an argument etc. (On the one hand) we could stay and help you, but on the other hand, it might be better if we went to help him instead.

out of hand

unable to be controlled. The angry crowd was getting out of hand.

shake hands with (someone) / shake someone's hand

to grasp a person's (usually right) hand, in one's own (usually right) hand, as a form of greeting, as a sign of agreement etc.

a show of hands

at a meeting, debate etc, a vote expressed by people raising their hands.

take in hand

to look after, discipline or train.

to hand

here; easily reached. All the tools you need are to hand.

handbag

→ حَقِيبَةُ اليَدّ kabelka håndtaske Handtasche γυναικεία τσάντα bolso käsilaukku sac à main torbica borsa ハンドバッグ 핸드백 handtas håndveske torebka damska bolsa de mão, mala de mão сумочка handväska กระเป๋าถือ çanta túi xách 手袋

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References in classic literature ?

So they all got safely to the shore--some swimming, some flying; and those that climbed along the rope brought the Doctor's trunk and handbag with them.

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Came into the office carrying a small handbag and asked for a special to London.

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She saw him slip a twenty-dollar bill into her handbag with her ticket.

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One of the passengers (judging by the handbag that she carried) had not stopped at the village.

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The maid took a handbag and the lap dog, the butler and a porter the other baggage.

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Obviously he didn't expect to be met, because when I murmured an enquiring, "Senor Ortega?" into his ear he swerved away from me and nearly dropped a little handbag he was carrying.

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Then, with a stick in one hand, and the handbag which was his sole luggage in the other, he left the station and turned seaward.

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Then my brother's attention was distracted by a bearded, eagle-faced man lugging a small handbag, which split even as my brother's eyes rested on it and disgorged a mass of sovereigns that seemed to break up into separate coins as it struck the ground.

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Her father followed carrying a few small objects, a handbag, her handkerchief, a book.

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As she appeared before him in the light of the parlour, Mr Verloc observed that she had even her little handbag hanging from her left wrist.

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It was a lady's hand-bag which stood upon the study table--a trim little handbag of crocodile-skin and silver.

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He used to do it with handbags he stole at railway stations, but he's in a monastery now.