noun
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pockets
plural
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a shaped piece of fabric attached inside or outside a garment and forming a pouch used especially for carrying small articles.
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a bag or pouch.
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any pouchlike receptacle, compartment, hollow, or cavity.
Steam creates little pockets in the dough as it bakes.
He put the water bottle back in its pocket on his backpack.
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an envelope, flat receptacle, etc., open at one end, used for storing something thin.
Each mini photo album has 12 pockets.
There are pockets in the front and back of the binder for loose notes.
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a recess, as in a wall, for receiving a sliding door, sash weights, etc.
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any isolated group, area, element, etc., that contrasts with a surrounding element or group.
After the rebellion was put down, there were still pockets of resistance in some parts of the country.
We biked through a pocket of cooler air sheltered by trees.
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level of financial resources.
The store carried a selection of gifts to fit every pocket.
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Mining.
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a small mass of ore, frequently isolated.
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a bin for ore or rock storage.
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a raise or small slope fitted with chute gates.
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Billiards, Pool. any of the pouches or bags at the corners and sides of the table.
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a position in which a competitor in a race is so hemmed in by others that their progress is impeded.
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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.
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Bowling. the space between the headpin and the pin next behind to the left or right, taken as the target for a strike.
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Baseball. the deepest part of a mitt or glove, roughly in the area around the center of the palm, where most balls are caught.
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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.
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Anatomy. any saclike cavity in the body.
a pus pocket.
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an English unit of weight for hops equivalent to 168 pounds (76.4 kilograms).
adjective
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small enough or suitable for carrying in the pocket.
a pocket watch.
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relatively small; smaller than usual.
a pocket war;
a pocket country.
verb (used with object)
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pockets,
present (3rd person singular)
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pocketed,
past participle, past
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pocketing
present participle
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to put into one's pocket.
She pocketed her keys and headed out.
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to take possession of as one's own, often dishonestly.
The mayor was found guilty of pocketing public funds.
- Synonyms:
- filch, appropriate, pilfer, steal
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to submit to or endure without protest or open resentment.
She can't be expected to pocket an insult like that.
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to conceal or suppress.
If you want to make it in this industry, you'll have to pocket your pride.
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to enclose or confine in or as if in a pocket.
The town was pocketed in a small valley.
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Billiards, Pool. to drive (a ball) into a pocket.
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to hem in (a contestant) so as to impede progress, as in racing.
idioms
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in someone's pocket, in someone's possession; under someone's influence.
He has the audience in his pocket.
Some worry that the research agency is in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry.
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out of pocket,
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having suffered a financial loss; poorer.
He had made unwise land purchases, and found himself several hundred thousand dollars out of pocket.
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lacking money.
I’m out of pocket right now but can pay you next month.
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with one’s own money.
She had to pay for the procedure out of pocket, as it wasn’t covered by insurance.
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Informal. not available; unreachable.
I'll be out of pocket all afternoon.
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Informal. showing lack of restraint; being or going outside the bounds of acceptable behavior.
Getting so rowdy at your friend’s wedding was way out of pocket.
I know I was out of pocket, pressing him on such a sensitive issue.
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line one's pockets, to profit, especially at the expense of others.
While millions were fighting and dying, the profiteers were lining their pockets.
noun
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a small bag or pouch in a garment for carrying small articles, money, etc
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any bag or pouch or anything resembling this
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a cavity or hollow in the earth, etc, such as one containing gold or other ore
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the ore in such a place
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a small enclosed or isolated area
a pocket of resistance
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billiards snooker any of the six holes with pouches or nets let into the corners and sides of a billiard table
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a position in a race in which a competitor is hemmed in
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Australian rules football a player in one of two side positions at the ends of the ground
back pocket
forward pocket
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a bag or sack of vegetables or fruit
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under one's control
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having made a profit, as after a transaction
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rugby (of a fly half) in an attacking position slightly further back from play than normal, making himself available for a drop goal attempt
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having made a loss, as after a transaction
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to make money, esp by dishonesty when in a position of trust
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(modifier) suitable for fitting in a pocket; small
a pocket edition
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slang (modifier) poker denoting a pair formed from the two private cards dealt to a player in a game of Texas hold 'em
pocket queens
verb
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to put into one's pocket
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to take surreptitiously or unlawfully; steal
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(usually passive) to enclose or confine in or as if in a pocket
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to receive (an insult, injury, etc) without retaliating
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to conceal or keep back (feelings)
he pocketed his pride and accepted help
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billiards snooker to drive (a ball) into a pocket
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(esp of the President) to retain (a bill) without acting on it in order to prevent it from becoming law See also pocket veto
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to hem in (an opponent), as in racing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pocketsimple
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pocketssimple
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have pocketedperfect
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has pocketedperfect
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am pocketingprogressive
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are pocketingprogressive
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is pocketingprogressive
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have been pocketingperfect progressive
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has been pocketingperfect progressive
Past
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pocketedsimple
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had pocketedperfect
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was pocketingprogressive
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were pocketingprogressive
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had been pocketingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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 poke 2, -et
Explanation
A pocket is a kind of pouch that's sewn into your clothes. If you are worried about your ink pen leaking in your shirt pocket, then you might spring for a pocket protector. Nice look! You can keep things like your keys in a pocket, or you can use your pockets to keep your hands warm. Jackets and jeans have pockets, and so do kangaroos and pool tables. In the case of kangaroos, it's a handy pouch in a mother's belly where she can keep a baby kangaroo warm and comfortable. And when you shoot pool, you aim for the pockets. As a verb, pocket can literally mean "put into your pocket," or more figuratively, "steal money." To be "in someone's pocket" is to be under their control or influence.
Vocabulary lists containing pocket
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:
Wisconsin attorney Munson said that in his state, the attorney fees to deal with the estate recovery come off the top of the settlement amount, not out of the pocket of the heirs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 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
In Tesla's Model 3, for example, passengers must reach into a compartment inside the door pocket and find a release cable to manually open the rear door, according to the company's website.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
The Spanish 23-year-old, who has already won seven majors overall, has one in his pocket this year after winning his first Australian Open in February.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Then the man beside me coughed and put his hand into his jacket pocket.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
But economists said that strict levies from the second-largest U.S. trading partner could hit pockets of the U.S. economic system particularly hard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Instead of returning uniformly, the subdominant phase began forming in scattered pockets.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
It’s a tough market to get right, however, as upper-end homes continue to appreciate, but other pockets of the market not as much.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Even speculators with the deepest pockets are veritable Davids when facing government Goliaths, but they have one advantage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Rats as big as cats scampered across sleeping men’s faces at night and chewed through their clothing to get at the food in their pockets.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
According to forms filed with the IRS, in 2023 she pocketed $907,923, a payout that included a $495,000 bonus, a number that exceeded her base pay at the time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
He said he pocketed half of the proceeds of each consignment reaching the UK, with each being worth up to £250,000.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
But using statistics from the Public Health Ministry, Mr. Morales estimates that in 2008-22 Gaesa pocketed at least $69.8 billion paid to Cuba for the medical personnel abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
Since they weren’t, four health insurance companies pocketed between $100 million to $500 million in claims they never had to pay.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026
He spun round just in time to see Mrs. Parsons dragging her son back into the doorway while the boy pocketed a catapult.
From "1984" by George Orwell
But with rebates flowing, counterparties are now suing some of these companies for pocketing those higher costs.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
Prosecutor Chris Paxton KC said the total monetary value of the fraud was £86,868 and that Bush had conned 226 people who paid him for funeral plans, pocketing more than £550,000 over an 11-year period.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Andrew Left of Citron Research was convicted in June of securities fraud for touting stocks, then quickly selling them after they ran up, pocketing over $20 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
A 2017 investigation by NPR and Frontline documented numerous examples of waste and fraud, including one developer pocketing tax credits without building the required housing.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
But he soon noticed that practically everyone on board was “souvenir collecting,” pocketing towels, ashtrays, and anything else they could easily lift.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
