Home › Words › H › handspanhandspanhandspan means the distance between the outstretched tips of the little finger and thumb when used as a unit of measurement.EtymologyFrom hand + span.nounThe distance between the outstretched tips of the little finger and thumb when used as a unit of measurement.Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.handsbreadth 73% match — a small distance vs handspan →handbreadth 68% match — A space equal to the breadth of the hand; a palm. vs handspan →thumbsbreadth 63% match — The width of a thumb, as a unit of measure. vs handspan →fistmele 60% match — A traditional unit of distance equal to the width of a clenched fist with the thumb extended (approx. 6½ inches or 16½ centimetres). vs handspan →handsies 57% match — The hands. vs handspan →cubit 56% match — The distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger used as an informal unit of length. vs handspan →fathom 56% match — A man's armspan, generally reckoned to be six feet (about 1.8 metres). Later used to measure the depth of water, but now generally replaced by the metre outside American usage. vs handspan →fingerful 54% match — An amount that can be or is held by a finger. vs handspan →