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• pocket veto
  pocket veto

  noun

  a veto of a bill brought about by the president's failure to sign it within ten days of the adjournment of Congress.
• pocket-veto
  pocket-veto

  verb (used with object)

  to veto (a bill) by exercising a pocket veto.

pocket veto

¹ American  

noun

1. a veto of a bill brought about by the president's failure to sign it within ten days of the adjournment of Congress.

2. a similar action on the part of any legislative executive.

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pocket-veto ² American  

[pok-it-vee-toh] / ˈpɒk ɪtˌvi toʊ /

verb (used with object)

pocket-vetoed, pocket-vetoing

1. to veto (a bill) by exercising a pocket veto.

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pocket veto British  

noun

1. the action of the President in retaining unsigned a bill passed by Congress within the last ten days of a session and thus causing it to die

2. any similar action by a state governor or other chief executive

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pocket veto Cultural  

1. An automatic veto of a bill that occurs if the president or governor neither signs nor vetoes a bill within ten days of receiving it — as long as the legislature adjourns during that period. If the legislature convenes during that period, the bill will automatically become law. A pocket veto cannot be overridden by the legislature, though the bill can be reintroduced at the next legislative session.

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pocket veto Idioms  

1. The implied veto of a bill by the President of the United States or by a state governor or other executive who simply holds the bill without signing it until the legislature has adjourned. For example, The President used the pocket veto to kill the crime bill. This expression dates from the 1830s and alludes to putting the unsigned bill inside one's pocket.

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Etymology

Origin of pocket veto

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

He said the governor’s pocket veto came “out of nowhere.”

From Washington Times • Jan. 5, 2021

Depending on when Congress sends the package to the White House, Trump could also choose to pocket veto the legislation, meaning the bill would die once the next session of Congress begins on January 3.

From Salon • Dec. 24, 2020

The silence amounted to a pocket veto of the proposal.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2020

Moreover, in a letter in June 1833, he wrote to Senator Henry Clay over the withholding of a land act as a type of pocket veto.

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2020

The term pocket veto has been applied to this method of defeating bills.

From Our Government: Local, State, and National: Idaho Edition by James, J.A.