fistful

noun

fist·​ful ˈfist-ˌfu̇l 

1

: handful

a fistful of coins

2

: a considerable number or amount

a whole fistful of musicians

—Thomas Lask

Synonyms

• abundance
• barrel
• basketful
• boatload
• bucket
• bunch
• bundle
• bushel
• carload
• chunk
• deal
• dozen
• gobs
• good deal
• heap
• hundred
• lashings [chiefly British]
• lashins
• loads
• lot
• mass
• mess
• mountain
• much
• multiplicity
• myriad
• oodles
• pack
• passel
• peck
• pile
• plateful
• plenitude
• plentitude
• plenty
• pot
• potful
• profusion
• quantity
• raft
• reams
• scads
• sheaf
• shipload
• sight
• slew
• spate
• stack
• store
• ton
• truckload
• volume
• wad
• wealth
• yard

Examples of fistful in a Sentence

She has won a fistful of awards.

repairing the roof is going to cost a fistful of money

Recent Examples on the Web

Audience members, all dressed to impress, were ascending stairs to the stage to pay homage to a performing drag queen with a dramatic beso on each cheek and a fistful of pesos folded into fake cleavage. —David Dodge, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2024

The attacker rushed at Artem with what appeared to be a fistful of tissue paper and socked him once in the right side of his stomach, Artem said. —Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2024

Chance — the half-naked guy on the left — waves around a fistful of lottery tickets above a golden urn, as if to taunt Fortune — the naked lady on the right. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024

Using it is a little like buying a fistful of lottery tickets. —Adam Iscoe, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1