pocket money

American  

noun

1. money for small, current expenses.

---

pocket money British  

noun

1. a small weekly sum of money given to children by parents as an allowance

2. money for day-to-day spending, incidental expenses, etc

---

pocket money Idioms  

1. Also, spending money. Cash for incidental or minor expenses, as in They don't believe in giving the children pocket money without asking them to do chores, or Can I borrow a dollar? I'm out of all my spending money. The first term, dating from the early 1600s, alludes to keeping small sums in one's pocket; the second alludes to money that may be spent (as opposed to saved) and dates from the late 1500s.

---

Etymology

Origin of pocket money

First recorded in 1625–35

Example Sentences

Dan Bennette: I was unemployed for a little bit and looking for a little pocket money, so I saw during the first snowstorm that they were doing emergency shovelers and I just signed up online.

From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026

If I didn’t work, I didn’t have pocket money.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

It’s the estate-planning equivalent of handing your kids pocket money.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 16, 2026

In reality, she paid the daily fee, and sat in the office writing online novels to earn some pocket money.

From BBC • Aug. 10, 2025

He had his old afterschool job back at McGarrity’s and Mama gave him one of the two dollars for pocket money.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith