a small piece of linen, silk, or other fabric, usually square, and used especially for wiping one's nose, eyes, face, etc., or for decorative purposes.
Use a mask, handkerchief or cloth over your nose and mouth.
Some of the collapsible hats can be squeezed into a handkerchief satchel, while four could be placed in a small hat bag.
One audience member reportedly attached a white handkerchief to the end of his cane and waved it at the stage in mock surrender.
Here, his grandfather taught him to catch mackerel by trolling a little jig and handkerchief.
One of the secretaries is crying into a handkerchief.
With that, he smoothed the crest of his red satin handkerchief and let out a great big baritone laugh.
Instead of a shirtwaist, she wore a skirt no bigger than a proper lady's pocket handkerchief.
For example, an embroidered handkerchief or a set of dishtowels were considered acceptable shower gifts.
His first artificial artery was fashioned from a silk handkerchief.
Extending himself upward, he slings a handkerchief over the exhaust stack of his late-model diesel rig.
British Dictionary definitions for handkerchief
handkerchief
/ˈhæŋkətʃɪf; -tʃiːf/
noun
1.
a small square of soft absorbent material, such as linen, silk, or soft paper, carried and used to wipe the nose, etc
Word Origin and History for handkerchief
n.
1520s, from hand + kerchief "cloth for covering the head." Thus it is a one-word contradiction in terms. By-form handkercher was in use 16c.-19c. A dropped handkerchief as a token of flirtation or courtship is attested by mid-18c.
handkerchief in the Bible
Only once in Authorized Version (Acts 19:12). The Greek word (sudarion) so rendered means properly "a sweat-cloth." It is rendered "napkin" in John 11:44; 20:7; Luke 19:20.