fistful

fist·ful
F4I1S1T1F4U1L1
Australia, Canada, US, UK/ˈfɪstˌfʊl/New Zealand/ˈfəstˌfʊl/Scotland/ˈfɪstˌfʉl/India/ˈfɪsʈˌfʊl/

noun

The amount that can be held in a closed fist.

Similar
handfulpunch
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounfistful (plural fistfuls or fistsful)

plural fistfuls · plural fistsful

  1. The amount that can be held in a closed fist.

    Synonyms: handful

  2. broadlyA small number of something.

    At Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked, he survived to pilot Navy reconnaissance planes again and pick up a fistful of medals, from the Purple Heart to the Distinguished Flying Cross.

    1967 June 9, “Nation: A Comer Arrives”, in Time

    Synonyms: handful

  3. A blow with the fist.

    Synonyms: punch

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe amount that can be held in a closed fist.

Similar
handful

nounA small number of something.

Similar
handful

nounA blow with the fist.

Similar
punch

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe quantity that can be held in the hand

Similar
handful
Broader
containerful
Also see
handful

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From fist (noun) + -ful.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan grapat
  • grapatthe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Danish håndfuld
  • håndfuldthe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Esperanto plenmano, manpleno
  • plenmanothe amount that can be held in a closed fist
  • manplenothe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Hungarian marék
  • marékthe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Irish lán doirn
  • lán doirnthe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Italian pugno, manciata
  • pugnothe amount that can be held in a closed fist
  • manciatathe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Latin pugillum
  • pugillumthe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Norwegian Bokmål neve, håndfull
  • nevethe amount that can be held in a closed fist
  • håndfullthe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Polish garść
  • garśćthe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Portuguese punhado
  • punhadothe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Scottish Gaelic làn cròige
  • làn cròigethe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Spanish puñado
  • puñadothe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Swedish näve, nävfull
  • nävethe amount that can be held in a closed fist
  • nävfullthe amount that can be held in a closed fist
  • handfullthe amount that can be held in a closed fist
Vietnamese nắm
  • nắmthe amount that can be held in a closed fist

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Sutliff
Cite this entry
APA

fistful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fistful

MLA

“fistful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fistful. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fistful,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fistful.

Source: fistful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.