pocketknife

[pok-it-nahyf]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pocketknife ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural pock·et·knives.

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

Origin of pocketknife

First recorded in 1720–30; pocket + knife

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

Related Words for pocketknife

knife, switchblade, penknife

Examples from the Web for pocketknife

Contemporary Examples of pocketknife

It took heroin addiction a year and nine months to take me from my desk at a literary agency to hold ups with a pocketknife.
Patted Down by India’s Hugging Saint
Daniel Genis
July 20, 2014
He then allegedly grabbed a pocketknife and told her he would “execute your kids” if she called the police.
Erbie Bowser: A ‘Gentle Giant’ Who Snapped
Christine Pelisek
August 9, 2013

Historical Examples of pocketknife

Taking out his pocketknife he neatly snipped one of the small wires.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery
His pocketknife was a serviceable one and he had plenty of physical strength.
The Highgrader
William MacLeod Raine
With his pocketknife Kilmeny cut the string that tied the sack.
The Highgrader
William MacLeod Raine
He opened his pocketknife and carefully slit the covering at one end.
The Cat in Grandfather's House
Carl Henry Grabo
He would stop that steer somehow if he had only his pocketknife to do it.
The Dude Wrangler
Caroline Lockhart

British Dictionary definitions for pocketknife

pocketknife

noun plural -knives

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

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