Hand luggage or cabin baggage, are all the personal belongings a passenger can carry along the cabin. You may take your handbag, laptop bag, etc.
Will TSA go through my purse?
They do inspect bags at security and can ask to look inside any bag you have but in several decades of travel I've never had security anywhere ask to completely empty a bag. In my experience if they see something suspicious on the x-ray typically they'll just dig around in it. They won't take everything out.