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.
(postpositive) having lost money, as in a commercial enterprise
without money to spend
(prenominal) (of expenses) unbudgeted and paid for in cash
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]
First recorded in 1880–85
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among the changes is an increase in out-of-pocket limits for bronze plans, which have been chosen this year by a record 40% enrollees because of their lower up-front costs.
From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026
In March ministers offered the BMA a deal which included more training jobs, faster career progression and covering out-of-pocket expenses like exam fees.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
She estimates the lost income, startup debt and out-of-pocket medical costs from her ordeal at more than $147,000.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
Premium growth slowed compared to prior years, but out-of-pocket maximums continued to climb.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
He put the real, out-of-pocket expense at $110 million a month.
From Russian Roulette: Russia's Economy in Putin's Era by Vaknin, Samuel
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.
