back pocket
Americannoun
-
a pocket typically placed on the seat of a pair of trousers, jeans, or shorts.
-
Sports. a defensive position in Australian Rules football.
-
(especially in the phrase in one's back pocket) the state of being in reserve and ready for use when needed.
-
(especially in the phrase in one's back pocket) the state of being under the control of a person or organization.
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.
“One of the first things that jumped out at us was how important that Oregon game is going to be. So that was something that we had in our back pocket going into the draft.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
"If you can be arbitrarily, at any moment, cut off from the American market, then it makes sense to have as much in your back pocket as you can," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
My life, too unconventional for a husband and kids, would be lived out of suitcases, a dog-eared passport forever in my back pocket.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
“It was deliberately designed this way, so that they have this ace card in their back pocket if there’s an accident,” Justin King, Benton’s lawyer, said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Glancing surreptitiously at the back pocket of one of them, I found the card was still in it, and that the last person to check it out was an F. Lockett, back in 1929.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
