handbasket

1 2.8

A small woven container with handles that you carry by hand

noun
/ˈhændˌbæskɪt/

: cesta

Synonyms

basket

vshandbasket

307 1.0

A container made by weaving thin pieces of material with handles for carrying things

is specifically small, hand carried and woven rather than any general container

shopping basket

vshandbasket

1 1.0

A small container with a handle used to carry items while you shop in a store

is for general hand carrying not limited to store use

Idioms

to go to hell in a handbasket

Informal

4 9.3

To become much worse very quickly and out of control

How Much

wagon

115 1.0

cart

345 1.0

wheelbarrow

24 1.0

handbarrow

Archaic

8.1

handbasket

1 2.8

tray

239 1.0

Surface Forms

handbasket singular

handbaskets plural

Morphology

handbasket = hand + basket (transparent) = hand + basket

A straightforward noun–noun compound whose meaning is directly the combination of 'hand' and 'basket' (a basket carried in the hand).

Etymology

Handbasket is simply the two English words hand and basket, so it literally means a basket 'for the hand' and therefore a small basket you carry by hand.