pocketbook

[pok-it-boo k]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pocketbook ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a woman's purse or handbag.

a person's financial resources or means: The price was out of reach of his pocketbook.

Also pocket book. a book, usually paperback, that is small enough to carry in one's coat pocket.

British.

a notebook for carrying in one's pocket.
a wallet or billfold.

Nearby words

Origin of pocketbook

First recorded in 1610–20; pocket + book

Can be confusedbriefcase handbag pocketbook purse valise wallet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pocketbook

Seemingly possessed by demons, she would slip objects from the homes of rich people they visited into her pocketbook.
Borges Had A Genius For Literature But Not Love Or Much Else|Allen Barra|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not many doctors are likely to reach for the pocketbook on that scale without quite a bit of deliberation.
The New Face of American Medicine: Liberal Women|Dale Eisinger|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Because they're not limited by their checkbook or pocketbook, they can buy a whole swath of products.
Lingerie for the 1 Percent|CNBC|August 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Republicans face increasing difficulty with the Hispanic vote for pocketbook reasons.
Who Wins from Immigration Deal? Not Republicans|David Frum|January 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Pocketbook issues make Hispanics natural Democrats, not natural Republicans.
Social Conservatives 'No Mas'|David Frum|January 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Holmes examined it for some time, and then, folding it carefully up, he placed it in his pocketbook.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes|Arthur Conan Doyle
He gave them his pocketbook, which, he said, contained forty dollars.
History of Linn County Iowa|Luther A. Brewer
After a glance at it I put the crumpled paper in my pocketbook.
The Pirate of Panama|William MacLeod Raine
Some one must have been here recently and taken the pocketbook.
The Woman of Mystery|Maurice Leblanc
He took my pocketbook, too, with two dollars and twenty-seven cents in it.
The Landloper|Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for pocketbook

pocketbook

noun US and Canadian

a small bag or case for money, papers, etc, carried by a handle or in the pocket

(modifier) concerned with personal financepocketbook issues

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

Word Origin and History for pocketbook

pocketbook

also pocket-book, 1610s, originally a small book meant to be carried in one's pocket, from pocket (n.) + book (n.). Meaning "a booklike leather folder for papers, bills, etc." is from 1722. Meaning "a woman's purse" is from 1816.

pocketbook

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of pocketbook

Examples from the Web for pocketbook

pocketbook

noun US and Canadian

pocketbook