wallet
Americannoun
-
wallets
plural
-
a flat, folding pocketbook, especially one large enough to hold paper money, credit cards, driver's license, etc., and sometimes having a compartment for coins.
-
Chiefly British. a bag for carrying food, clothing, toilet articles, etc., during a journey; knapsack or rucksack.
noun
-
a small folding case, usually of leather, for holding paper money, documents, etc
-
a bag used to carry tools
-
archaic a rucksack or knapsack
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of wallet
1350–1400; Middle English walet < ?
Compare meaning
How does wallet compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Posting on social media, Mcallister said Scott, from Elgin, had become unsteady due to his medication and the heat, and did not have his phone or wallet with him.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
They attend concerts, meet career coaches, reserve study rooms, download software, join student organizations, and participate in countless campus activities without ever reaching for a wallet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
I ended up leaving with the Hotel Mar-a-Lago shirt, which Bill insisted I take as a souvenir of my visit, refusing my money when I pulled out my wallet.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
When a tycoon on Wall Street tells you about an exciting new invention in “financial engineering,” reach for your wallet.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Benji had told his parents about the wallet already.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
An enthralled audience left opening its collective wallets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
But such is the scale of the heat that people are voting with their wallets - demand for portable air con units is through the roof, regardless of grants and the environment.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Maybe this is all a cool summer breeze for workers’ wallets.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Bessent said the department "sanctioned multiple wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, resulting in the freeze of over $130 million."
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Into the suitcase went the cameras, the leather wallets, the rings, the belt buckles.
From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
