pocket borough


noun
  1. (before the Reform Bill of 1832) any English borough whose representatives in Parliament were controlled by an individual or family.

  2. an election district under the control of an individual, family, or group.

Origin of pocket borough

1
First recorded in 1855–60

Words Nearby pocket borough

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pocket borough in a sentence

  • In February 1830 the doors of the House of Commons were opened to him through what was then called a “pocket borough.”

  • Had it not been for a pocket borough, Burke, that Cicero of English politics, would never have entered the halls of legislation.

    Ande Trembath | Matthew Stanley Kemp
  • It was their Parliamentary pocket-borough, and only their nominees could be elected.

    The Cornish Coast (South) | Charles G. Harper
  • Like Gatton, Reigate was a pocket borough, and sent two members to Parliament until 1832, when the two were reduced to one.

  • Thereafter, it was storekeeper Lincoln's pocket borough; its ruffians were his body-guard.

    Lincoln | Nathaniel Wright Stephenson

British Dictionary definitions for pocket borough

pocket borough

noun
  1. (before the Reform Act of 1832) an English borough constituency controlled by one person or family who owned the land: Compare rotten borough

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012