pocketbook
Americannoun
-
a small bag or case for money, papers, etc, carried by a handle or in the pocket
-
(modifier) concerned with personal finance
pocketbook issues
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pocketbook
Explanation
Pocketbook is another name for a purse or wallet, a place to keep money or other essentials. Pocketbook can also refer to the amount of money you have, even if it’s in your mattress. In the UK, pocketbook is a pocket-sized notebook, but in the US it's usually a small bag typically carried by women. Figuratively, your pocketbook is your budget: "Those shoes are way too expensive for my pocketbook." In the early 1600s, a pocketbook was "a book small enough to fit in a pocket," and by 1722 it became "a booklike leather folder for papers." In the early 1800s, it came to mean "woman's handbag."
Vocabulary lists containing pocketbook
Vocabulary from Readings 1, Unit 1
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"Thank You, M'am," by Langston Hughes
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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:
All of it, unfortunately, has been passed down to your pocketbook in one form or another.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
The leaders of these so-called “neolabs” have become more open to using AMD’s chips, but in an industry as expensive as AI, Nvidia’s pocketbook can make a big difference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
Yet domestic pocketbook issues for many U.S. households remain front-and-center as 2026 kicks off on Wall Street.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 4, 2026
But they’re also taking fresh inspiration from Mamdani’s win, pointing to his inclusive, unapologetic campaign and his relentless focus on pocketbook issues, particularly among working-class voters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2025
His white hair was soft and ragged on his neck and he carried around with him a woman’s big silk pocketbook full of chalk and Jesus ads.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
“With a resurgence in fuel prices and trade tensions, consumers anticipate greater pressures on their pocketbooks to come,” Joanne Hsu, the director of the Surveys of Consumers, said.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
When the price of diesel rises, it doesn’t show up immediately in consumers’ pocketbooks, Chowdhury said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
So the impact of the debt "finds its way to the pocketbooks of people one way or another," says MacGuineas.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
In the weeks before Spirit closed down, the company warned that travelers’ pocketbooks would feel the airline’s absence if it vanished.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
It worked no hardship on the people’s pocketbooks: only threepence the pound.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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.
