Handbag
noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A small bag carried in the hand, used either when travelling or to carry tools for a specific job. archaic, countable, uncountable
"From a little hand-bag he extracted his automatic pistol, which he put upon the mantelpiece."
- 2 a container used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women) wordnet
- 3 A small bag used chiefly by women for carrying various small personal items, sometimes considered as a fashion accessory. Commonwealth, countable, uncountable
"Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on the stairway, and the light of the reflector fell full upon her."
- 4 Ellipsis of handbag house. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountable
- 1 To attack verbally or subject to criticism (typically used of a woman). British, humorous, idiomatic, transitive
"‘Apparently Birt happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time on Sunday afternoon. Virginia saw him and handbagged him. She really was very cross.’"
Example
More examples"Mary claimed that the handbag had been a present from her husband."
Etymology
From hand + bag. The music genre is named from women dancing around a pile of their handbags in nightclubs. The verb is a reference to Margaret Thatcher's handbag.
Related phrases
More for "handbag"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.