pocket

[ pok-it ]

/ ˈpɒk ɪt /

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See synonyms for pocket on Thesaurus.com

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: The store carried 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 their 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 kilograms).

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: She pocketed her keys and headed out.

to take possession of as one's own, often dishonestly: The mayor was found guilty of pocketing public funds.

to submit to or endure without protest or open resentment: She can't be expected to pocket an insult like that.

to conceal or suppress: If you want to make it in this industry, you'll have to pocket your 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR pocket

21 steal, pilfer, appropriate, filch.

See synonyms for pocket on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about pocket

in one's pocket, in one's possession; under one's influence: He has the audience in his pocket.

line one's pockets, to profit, especially at the expense of others: While millions were fighting and dying, the profiteers were lining their pockets.

out of pocket,

having suffered a financial loss; poorer: He had made unwise land purchases, and found himself several thousand dollars out of pocket.
lacking money.
Informal. not available; unreachable: I'll be out of pocket all afternoon.

Origin of pocket

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English poket, from Old North French (Picard ) poquet (Old French pochet, pochette ), diminutive of poque, from Middle Dutch poke “bag, pocket”; see poke², -et

OTHER WORDS FROM pocket

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

Words nearby pocket

pocho, Po Chü-i, pocill., pock, pocked, pocket, pocketable, pocket battleship, pocketbike, pocket billiards, pocketbook

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pocket in a sentence

Place your properly folded mask inside the bag and slip the bag into a pocket while you take a quick mask break.
Why you shouldn’t ever wear your mask around your neck|Erin Fennessy|February 11, 2021|Popular-Science
Worn down and chipped from frequent handling, these figurines look like they might have been carried around in pockets or bags.
What archaeologists got wrong about female statues, goddesses, and fertility|Annalee Newitz|February 10, 2021|Popular-Science
It’s great fuel, and I can cram it in a ski-jacket pocket and eat it on the lift.
These Are Our Editors' Go-To Ski Lunches|Ula Chrobak|February 9, 2021|Outside Online
Why can’t this be a superpower that every developer has in their pocket.
nextmv raises $8M Series A to increase accessibility to its automation optimization tech|Jordan Crook|February 9, 2021|TechCrunch

On every trip that involves wildlife, I have a secret urge to pocket the animals and take them home.
In ‘The Whispering Land,’ a British naturalist collects travel tales — and animals with tails — in Argentina|Andrea Sachs|February 4, 2021|Washington Post
I was already over forty, had hardly a nickel in my pocket and this was the biggest break in my life.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It had a wide brim and a tall crown, which created an insulated pocket of air and could also be used to carry water.
My Love Letter to the Stetson|Mark McKinnon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This leaves thousands of women at companies across the United States left to pay out of pocket for their birth control.
The 26 Next Hobby Lobbys|Abby Haglage|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One African American woman brandished a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution while marching.
Sharpton Recalls Civil Rights Struggle in DC March Against Police Violence|Ben Jacobs|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Being dapper is all about attention to detail, like sporting a perfectly tucked handkerchief in your suit pocket.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Don Draper in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The young man smiled at the girl, as he crushed up the notes and stuffed them into his pocket.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
Down in his galleries and chambers where it was dark as a pocket Grandfather Mole enjoyed himself thoroughly.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
Absently his hands wandered through the pockets, and found his purse and the money in an outside pocket.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
“Of course we know it, sir,” rejoined Fogg, slapping his pocket—perhaps by accident.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
Thinking it was a request for employment which he could not offer, Malcolm stuffed it carelessly into a pocket.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for pocket

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 forms of pocket

pocketable, 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

Other Idioms and Phrases with pocket

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

pocket

OTHER WORDS FOR pocket

Idioms about pocket

Origin of pocket

OTHER WORDS FROM pocket

Words nearby pocket

Words related to pocket

How to use pocket in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pocket

Derived forms of pocket

Word Origin for pocket

Other Idioms and Phrases with pocket