Other forms: handbags
A handbag is the small bag many women carry, holding a wallet, keys and a phone. Over the shoulder or on the crook of the arm.
American English says purse for the same thing, while a British purse is the small thing inside for money, which is a reliable source of confusion. Fashion has made some of them extremely expensive. British English has a comic phrasal use, since handbags at dawn describes a fight that is all show and no damage, borrowed from football commentary.
1nounhandbagA small bag carried by hand or on the shoulder for personal items.
“She rummaged in her handbag for the tickets.”
Also accepted in games: purse
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.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA