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.
an English unit of weight for hops equivalent to 168 pounds (76.4 kilograms).
small enough or suitable for carrying in the pocket: a pocket watch.
relatively small; smaller than usual: a pocket war; a pocket country.
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.
to hem in (a contestant) so as to impede progress, as in racing.
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
1Other words for pocket
Other words from pocket
- pock·et·less, adjective
- pock·et·like, adjective
- un·pock·et, verb (used with object)
Words Nearby pocket
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-ScienceWorn 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-ScienceIt’s great fuel, and I can cram it in a ski-jacket pocket and eat it on the lift.
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 | TechCrunchOn 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 | THE DAILY BEASTIt had a wide brim and a tall crown, which created an insulated pocket of air and could also be used to carry water.
This leaves thousands of women at companies across the United States left to pay out of pocket for their birth control.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTBeing 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 | THE DAILY BEASTThe 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. WilliamsonDown in his galleries and chambers where it was dark as a pocket Grandfather Mole enjoyed himself thoroughly.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott BaileyAbsently 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 DickensThinking 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
/ (ˈpɒkɪt) /
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 area: a 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 ground: back 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; small: a pocket edition
(modifier) poker slang denoting a pair formed from the two private cards dealt to a player in a game of Texas hold 'em: pocket queens
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 law: See also pocket veto
to hem in (an opponent), as in racing
Origin of pocket
1Derived forms of pocket
- pocketable, adjective
- pocketless, adjective
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
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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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