pocketknife

[pok-it-nahyf]

noun

plural

pocketknives 

1. a knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle, suitable for carrying in the pocket.

pocketknife

/ ˈpɒkɪtˌnaɪf /

noun

1. a small knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle; penknife

Word History and Origins

Origin of pocketknife¹

First recorded in 1720–30; pocket + knife

Example Sentences

When he put his head down, one slashed his jugular vein with a pocketknife while another stole his laptop, clothes and passport, according to Pellegrino.

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The other took Juan’s pocketknife and stabbed him in the leg, he said.

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He also placed his hand puppets on wall-mounted boxes and ordered his collection of daggers and pocketknives just so.

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One of the men, 22, of Maple Valley, punched her several times before taking out a pocketknife and repeatedly stabbing her, police said.

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“We were given a free pocketknife during our trainings, and I had that pocketknife on me, so I was able to cut her out of her seatbelt,” he said in a phone interview on Saturday.

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