a container used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women)
"she reached into her bag and found a comb"
A small bag used by women (or sometimes by men) for carrying various small personal items.
"She slipped her keys and wallet into her leather handbag before leaving for work."
In plain English: A handbag is a bag you carry by holding its handle with your hand, usually used to hold personal items while out and about.
"She reached into her handbag to find her keys before leaving for work."
Usage: A handbag is the common term for a woman's shoulder bag, though "purse" often refers specifically to a smaller wallet-sized accessory held in the hand or attached to clothing. Avoid confusing this everyday item with its rare figurative meaning of verbally attacking someone, which appears only in specific historical contexts like those involving Margaret Thatcher.
Figuratively, to hit with a handbag; to attack verbally or subject to criticism (used of Margaret Thatcher).
"Margaret Thatcher was effectively handedagued by her critics who accused her of being too harsh on the working class."
In plain English: There is no verb form of handbag because you cannot turn someone into a bag; it is only used as a noun to describe a woman's purse.
"The handbag fell over in the wind, spilling its contents onto the sidewalk."
The word handbag comes directly from combining the words "hand" and "bag." While this term originally described a simple accessory carried by hand, it later acquired specific cultural meanings: as a noun in music describing women dancing around their purses in nightclubs, and as a verb referencing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's famous habit of using her bag to deliver political messages.