From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhandkerchiefhand‧ker‧chief /ˈhæŋkətʃɪf $ -kər-/ ●○○ noun [countable] DHa piece of cloth that you use for drying your nose or eyes SYN hankie, tissue
Examples from the Corpus
handkerchief• He took out a handkerchief and dried his face, hid behind it to prepare an expression to meet his wife.• Julia rubbed her eyes with a handkerchief and then went to retrieve her drink.• Presumably the decline of domestic servants to launder the disgusting handkerchiefs.• After he had jerked out his desire into an already grubby handkerchief he had cried a little, sick with disgust.• I leaned across his wife and wiped his forehead with my handkerchief.• Then his startled gaze met the glowing eyes above the white patch of the handkerchief the man was holding at his mouth.• You couldn't see the card until you unfolded the handkerchief and now Wexford looked at it for the first time.• She managed to wait until Héloïse had left the room before rummaging in her sleeve for her big white handkerchief. 