pocketknife

American  

[pok-it-nahyf] / ˈpɒk ɪtˌnaɪf /

noun

pocketknives plural

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

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pocketknife British  

/ ˈpɒkɪtˌnaɪf /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pocketknives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pocketknife

First recorded in 1720–30; pocket + knife

Explanation

A pocketknife is a folding knife that's small enough to fit in your pocket. Some fancy pocketknives have many blades and little tools that can fold back into the handle. You can also call a pocketknife a jackknife, or in Britain, a penknife. Pocketknives' blades fold into their handles, so you can safely carry the knife in your pocket or bag. Multi-tool pocketknives, in addition to sharp blades, often have tiny screwdrivers, files, bottle openers, and other tools. Pocketknives are used for whittling, hunting, cutting twine, slicing fruit, and many other tasks.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pocketknife pocketknives

Using the Florida law as an example, perhaps the suspect happens to be carrying a pocketknife.

From Slate ● Dec. 6, 2024

Police searched Pearson, discovered a pocketknife and took her into custody.

From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2024

Ward searched through his pockets, pulling out two lighters, and told McWhorter he might have a pocketknife.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 24, 2023

Diatomite is really strange stuff—you can cut it with a pocketknife or a spade or a chainsaw.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 13, 2022

I pulled out my pocketknife with my other hand and drove it through the shingle into the wooden wall of the cistern, pinning my makeshift piece of sygaldry under the water.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Or, they exempted pocketknives, Bea said — meaning, in his estimation, that they would not justify a modern ban on a butterfly knife.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2023

My colleague developed a technique of cutting blocks with his chainsaw, and then the rest of us would sit around with our field pocketknives and split them.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 13, 2022

Change is also afoot at Esquire, the tweediest of the men’s titles, which for decades carried a whiff of dad’s old cedar chest full of pocketknives and Mickey Mantle baseball cards.

From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2019

There are hoodies, sneakers, and off-the-wall branded goods, from pocketknives to fire extinguishers.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 28, 2016

They’d gone there with other kids and imagined they were hiding out, sharpening alder sticks with pocketknives to be used in their defense.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson