out-of-pocket

[ out-uh v-pok-it ]

/ ˈaʊt əvˈpɒk ɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR out-of-pocket ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

paid out in cash or from one's own financial resources and sometimes reimbursed: My out-of-pocket travel expenses included taking business clients to dinner.

without funds or assets: an out-of-pocket student who stayed with us.

Nearby words

out-of-bounds, out-of-court, out-of-date, out-of-door, out-of-doors, out-of-pocket, out-of-print, out-of-round, out-of-sight, out-of-state, out-of-stater

Origin of out-of-pocket

First recorded in 1880–85

Definition for out of pocket (2 of 2)

pocket

[ pok-it ]

/ ˈpɒk ɪt /

noun

a shaped piece of fabric attached inside or outside a garment and forming a pouch used especially for carrying small articles.

a bag or pouch.

means; financial resources: a selection of gifts to fit every pocket.

any pouchlike receptacle, compartment, hollow, or cavity.

an envelope, receptacle, etc., usually of heavy paper and open at one end, used for storing or preserving photographs, stamps, phonograph records, etc.: Each album has 12 pockets.

a recess, as in a wall, for receiving a sliding door, sash weights, etc.

any isolated group, area, element, etc., contrasted, as in status or condition, with a surrounding element or group: pockets of resistance; a pocket of poverty in the central city.

Mining.

a small orebody or mass of ore, frequently isolated.
a bin for ore or rock storage.
a raise or small slope fitted with chute gates.

Billiards, Pool. any of the pouches or bags at the corners and sides of the table.

a position in which a competitor in a race is so hemmed in by others that his or her progress is impeded.

Football. the area from which a quarterback throws a pass, usually a short distance behind the line of scrimmage and protected by a wall of blockers.

Bowling. the space between the headpin and the pin next behind to the left or right, taken as the target for a strike.

Baseball. the deepest part of a mitt or glove, roughly in the area around the center of the palm, where most balls are caught.

Nautical. a holder consisting of a strip of sailcloth sewed to a sail, and containing a thin wooden batten that stiffens the leech of the sail.

Anatomy. any saclike cavity in the body: a pus pocket.

stage pocket.

an English unit of weight for hops equivalent to 168 pounds (76.4 kg).

adjective

small enough or suitable for carrying in the pocket: a pocket watch.

relatively small; smaller than usual: a pocket war; a pocket country.

verb (used with object)

to put into one's pocket: to pocket one's keys.

to take possession of as one's own, often dishonestly: to pocket public funds.

to submit to or endure without protest or open resentment: to pocket an insult.

to conceal or suppress: to pocket one's pride.

to enclose or confine in or as if in a pocket: The town was pocketed in a small valley.

Billiards, Pool. to drive (a ball) into a pocket.

pocket-veto.

to hem in (a contestant) so as to impede progress, as in racing.

Origin of pocket

1250–1300; Middle English poket < Old North French (Picard) poquet (Old French pochet, pochette), diminutive of poque < Middle Dutch poke poke²; see -et

SYNONYMS FOR pocket

21 steal, pilfer, appropriate, filch.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pocket ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspock·et·less, adjectivepock·et·like, adjectiveun·pock·et, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for out of pocket (1 of 2)

out of pocket

adjective (out-of-pocket when prenominal)

(postpositive) having lost money, as in a commercial enterprise

without money to spend

(prenominal) (of expenses) unbudgeted and paid for in cash

British Dictionary definitions for out of pocket (2 of 2)

pocket

/ (ˈpɒkɪt) /

noun

a small bag or pouch in a garment for carrying small articles, money, etc

any bag or pouch or anything resembling this

a cavity or hollow in the earth, etc, such as one containing gold or other ore
the ore in such a place

a small enclosed or isolated areaa pocket of resistance

billiards snooker any of the six holes with pouches or nets let into the corners and sides of a billiard table

a position in a race in which a competitor is hemmed in

Australian rules football a player in one of two side positions at the ends of the groundback pocket; forward pocket

Southern African a bag or sack of vegetables or fruit

in one's pocket under one's control

in pocket having made a profit, as after a transaction

in the pocket rugby (of a fly half) in an attacking position slightly further back from play than normal, making himself available for a drop goal attempt

out of pocket having made a loss, as after a transaction

line one's pockets to make money, esp by dishonesty when in a position of trust

(modifier) suitable for fitting in a pocket; smalla pocket edition

(modifier) poker slang denoting a pair formed from the two private cards dealt to a player in a game of Texas hold 'empocket queens

verb -ets, -eting or -eted (tr)

to put into one's pocket

to take surreptitiously or unlawfully; steal

(usually passive) to enclose or confine in or as if in a pocket

to receive (an insult, injury, etc) without retaliating

to conceal or keep back (feelings)he pocketed his pride and accepted help

billiards snooker to drive (a ball) into a pocket

US (esp of the President) to retain (a bill) without acting on it in order to prevent it from becoming lawSee also pocket veto

to hem in (an opponent), as in racing

Derived Formspocketable, adjectivepocketless, adjective

Word Origin for pocket

C15: from Anglo-Norman poket a little bag, from poque bag, from Middle Dutch poke poke ², bag; related to French poche pocket

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

Word Origin and History for out of pocket (1 of 3)

pocket

mid-14c., pokete, "bag, pouch, small sack," from Anglo-French pokete (13c.), diminutive of Old North French poque "bag" (Old French pouche), from a Germanic source akin to Frankish *pokka "bag," from Proto-Germanic *puk- (see poke (n.)).

Meaning "small bag worn on the person, especially one sewn into a garment" is from early 15c. Sense in billiards is from 1754. Mining sense is attested from 1850; military sense of "area held by troops surrounded by the enemy" is from 1918; the general sense of "small area different than its surroundings" (1926) apparently was extended from the military use. Figuratively, "one's money" (conceived as being kept in a pocket) is from 1717. Pope Pokett (late 15c.) was figurative of the greedy and corrupt Church.

Word Origin and History for out of pocket (1 of 3)

pocket

1580s, "to place in a pocket" (often with implications of dishonesty), from pocket (n.). From the earliest use often figurative. Meaning "to form pockets" is from c.1600. Related: Pocketed; pocketing.

Word Origin and History for out of pocket (2 of 3)

pocket

adj.

1610s, "of or pertaining to or meant for a pocket," from pocket (n.). Pocket-knife is first recorded 1727; pocket-money is attested from 1630s. Often merely implying a small-sized version of something, e.g. of warships, from 1930, and cf. Pocket Venus "beautiful, small woman," attested from 1808. Pocket veto attested from 1842, American English.

The "pocket veto" can operate only in the case of bills sent to the President within ten days of Congressional adjournment. If he retain such a bill (figuratively, in his pocket) neither giving it his sanction by signing it, nor withholding his sanction in returning it to Congress, the bill is defeated. The President is not bound to give reasons for defeating a bill by a pocket veto which he has not had at least ten days to consider. In a regular veto he is bound to give such reasons. [James Albert Woodburn, "The American Republic and its Government," Putnam's, 1903]

Medicine definitions for out of pocket

pocket

[ pŏk′ĭt ]

n.

In anatomy, a cul-de-sac or pouchlike cavity.

A diseased space between the inflamed gum and the surface of a tooth.

A collection of pus in a nearly closed sac.

v.

To enclose within a confined space.

To approach the surface at a localized spot, as with the thinned-out wall of an abscess which is about to rupture.

Idioms and Phrases with out of pocket (1 of 2)

out of pocket

Lacking money; also, having suffered a financial loss, as in We can't go; I'm out of pocket right now. William Congreve had it in The Old Bachelor (1693): “But egad, I'm a little out of pocket at present.” [Late 1600s]

Referring to actual money spent, as in I had to pay the hotel bill out of pocket, but I know I'll be reimbursed. This expression sometimes occurs as a hyphenated adjective mainly in the phrase out-of-pocket expenses, as in My out-of-pocket expenses for business travel amounted to more than a thousand dollars. [Late 1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with out of pocket (2 of 2)

pocket

In addition to the idioms beginning with pocket

pocket money
pocket veto

also see:

deep pockets
in one's pocket
in pocket
line one's pockets
money burns a hole in one's pocket
out of pocket

out-of-pocket

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of out-of-pocket

Definition for out of pocket (2 of 2)

pocket

noun

adjective

verb (used with object)

Origin of pocket

British Dictionary definitions for out of pocket (1 of 2)

out of pocket

adjective (out-of-pocket when prenominal)

British Dictionary definitions for out of pocket (2 of 2)

pocket

noun

verb -ets, -eting or -eted (tr)

Word Origin for pocket

Word Origin and History for out of pocket (1 of 3)

pocket

Word Origin and History for out of pocket (1 of 3)

pocket

Word Origin and History for out of pocket (2 of 3)

pocket

Medicine definitions for out of pocket

pocket

n.

v.

Idioms and Phrases with out of pocket (1 of 2)

out of pocket

Idioms and Phrases with out of pocket (2 of 2)

pocket