out-of-pocket
adjective
paid out in cash or from one's own financial resources and sometimes reimbursed.
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out-of-pocket
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out of pocket
out of pocketadjective(postpositive) having lost money, as in a commercial enterprise
out-of-pocket
American
[out-uhv-pok-it]
/ ˈaʊt əvˈpɒk ɪt /
adjective
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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.
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without funds or assets.
an out-of-pocket student who stayed with us.
out of pocket
British
adjective
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(postpositive) having lost money, as in a commercial enterprise
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without money to spend
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(prenominal) (of expenses) unbudgeted and paid for in cash
out of pocket
Idioms
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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]
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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]
Etymology
Origin of out-of-pocket
First recorded in 1880–85
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:
“The brands that treat this as a brand-building opportunity, not another awareness push, are the ones that will pull ahead in the out-of-pocket era.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
But that wouldn’t work very well, because of gaps in that program — it doesn’t cover dental or vision care and has no out-of-pocket cap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Medicare Advantage plans are required to cap out-of-pocket spending for covered Part A and Part B services, giving enrollees real protection.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
A Medicare supplement plan, or Medigap, is extra insurance you can buy from a private health-insurance company to help cover out-of-pocket costs in traditional Medicare, like copayments, coinsurance and deductibles.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
It is certainly the reverse of pleasant to be compelled to keep an appointment which may mean considerable out-of-pocket expense and much personal inconvenience.
From The Sign of Silence by William Le Queux
So, despite having insurance, she had to pay $1,000 out of pocket for a dental procedure.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
It means their holiday to Slovenia has been cancelled and - although their flight was refunded by British Airways - they estimate being left £1,300 out of pocket from unused accommodation and excursions.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
She also occasionally tells patients to pay out of pocket for a second doctor to provide a fuller opinion than the original doctor’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
A BBC investigation can now shine more light on the scale of money owed, uncovering evidence that tenants and landlords are between them out of pocket by hundreds of thousands of pounds.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
After three years of struggling to pay my tuition out of pocket, we were finally able to apply for financial aid for my senior year.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
