(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a kind of small bag which forms part of a piece of clothing, and which is used for carrying small things such as money or a handkerchief.
He took his flashlight from his jacket ~ and switched it on...
The man stood with his hands in his ~s.
N-COUNT: oft poss N, n N
2.
You can use ~ in a lot of different ways to refer to money that people have, get, or spend. For example, if someone gives or pays a lot of money, you can say that they dig deep into their ~. If you approve of something because it is very cheap to buy, you can say that it suits people’s ~s.
...ladies’ fashions to suit all shapes, sizes and ~s...
N-COUNT
3.
You use ~ to describe something that is small enough to fit into a ~, often something that is a smaller version of a larger item.
...a ~ calculator.
...my ~ edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.
ADJ: ADJ n
4.
A ~ of something is a small area where something is happening, or a small area which has a particular quality, and which is different from the other areas around it.
He survived the earthquake after spending 3 days in an air ~...
The army controls the city apart from a few ~s of resistance.
N-COUNT: usu N of n
5.
If someone who is in possession of something valuable such as a sum of money ~s it, they steal it or take it for themselves, even though it does not belong to them.
Dishonest importers would be able to ~ the VAT collected from customers.
VERB: V n
6.
If you say that someone ~s something such as a prize or sum of money, you mean that they win or obtain it, often without needing to make much effort or in a way that seems unfair. (JOURNALISM)
He ~ed more money from this tournament than in his entire three years as a professional.
VERB: V n
7.
If someone ~s something, they put it in their ~, for example because they want to steal it or hide it.
Anthony snatched his letters and ~ed them...
VERB: V n
8.
If you say that someone is in someone else’s ~, you disapprove of the fact that the first person is willing to do whatever the second person tells them, for example out of weakness or in return for money.
The board of directors must surely have been in Johnstone’s ~.
PHRASE: usu v-link PHR disapproval
9.
If you say that someone is lining their own or someone else’s ~s, you disapprove of them because they are making money dishonestly or unfairly.
It is estimated that 5,000 bank staff could be lining their own ~s from customer accounts.
PHRASE: V inflects disapproval
10.
If you are out of ~, you have less money than you should have or than you intended, for example because you have spent too much or because of a mistake.
They were well out of ~–they had spent far more in Hollywood than he had earned...
PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v
see also out-of-~
11.
If someone picks your ~, they steal something from your ~, usually without you noticing.
They were more in danger of having their ~s picked than being shot at.
PHRASE: V and N inflect