handbag

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled hand-bag

US /ˈhændˌbæg/ UK /ˈhændˌbæɡ/ See IPA manual

noun verb Freq #11356

Meanings

1

noun
A small bag, often carried by women, for keys, money, and other personal things.

She kept her phone and keys in her handbag.
2

verb
To attack someone with sharp criticism.

The minister was handbagged by reporters at the press conference.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small bag, often carried... purse bag

Word family

Forms handbags

Derived forms handbagfulhandbaggerhandbaggyhandbaglesshardbagman-bag

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.

Topics

Describing Qualities

# handbag

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** ˈhændˌbæg
**IPA (UK):** ˈhændˌbæɡ
**Frequency rank:** 11356

## Meanings
1. A small bag, often carried by women, for keys, money, and other personal things.
2. To attack someone with sharp criticism.

## Examples
- She kept her phone and keys in her handbag.
- The minister was handbagged by reporters at the press conference.

## Derived Forms
- handbagful
- handbagger
- handbaggy
- handbagless
- hardbag
- man-bag

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Handbag comes 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. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named elements. In current use, the main senses are “A small bag, often carried by women, for keys, money, and other personal things” and “To attack someone with sharp criticism”.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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handbag

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