I. ˈpäkə̇t, usu -ə̇d.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English poket, from Old North French pokete, diminutive of poke, poque bag, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch poke bag — more at poke
1. : a coarse bag or sack ; especially : one used in packing produce for market
the packing of green beans and peas in orange pockets — W.J.C. van Rensburg
rice pockets
2.
a. : a small bag carried by a person : purse
Lucy Locket lost her pocket
b. : a small cloth bag sewed or inserted into a garment and left open at the top or side
pants pocket
coat pocket
change pocket
3. : any of various units of weight ; especially : an English unit for hops equal to 168 pounds
4. : supply of money : means
ample choice of accommodations to fit all pockets — Christian Science Monitor
the real gems I have seen were beyond my pocket — H.J.Laski
5. : something that serves as a receptacle or container: as
a. : any of the bags at the corners or sides of a billiard table
b. : a superficial pouch in some animals (as the cheek pouch of the pocket gopher)
c.
(1) : a receptacle usually of strong paper and open at one end attached to the inside cover of a book
(2) : envelope
d.
(1) : the trap of a weir or pound net
(2) : the cod of a seine
e. : a box (as in a sorting case) or space (as on a checkerboard) for holding classified or alphabetized items or counters
6. : a small isolated area or group distinguished (as in substance, form, contents, or condition) from a larger area or group surrounding it
pockets of unemployment, scattered across the country — U.S. News & World Report
pockets here and there where the population has remained unchanged since remotest centuries — G.O.Williams
as
a.
(1) : a cavity found on or beneath the surface of the ground and containing a deposit (as of gold, oil, gas, or water)
china clay and china stone found in great pockets on the surface of the granite masses — L.D.Stamp
an oil pocket underlying the city — American Guide Series: Michigan
(2) : a small body of ore
are not uniformly ore bearing, but rather punctuated with pockets and sheets of iron ore — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : a small abnormal enclosed formation in the body
a pocket is formed with a center of degenerated and infected material — Morris Fishbein
c. : a battle area or a body of soldiers surrounded or nearly surrounded by enemy forces
the woods might have been planned by a master strategist to hold pockets of resistance — Infantry Journal
d. : air hole
7. : a hollow place or cavity: as
a. : a mountain glen or hollow
small villages resting solidly in the pockets of northern mountains — American Guide Series: New Jersey
b. : a socket into which something (as a post, stake, or bar) fits
the bars slide into pockets in the interior of the reactor — Leon Svirsky
c. : a cavity in a casting or a high point in a pipeline where foreign substance (as dirt or air) can collect and possibly become detrimental to intended functioning
d. : a hole or recess in a building member (as a window frame or flue)
a venetian blind pocket
a soot pocket
e. : an interspace made by sewing a strip of canvas on a sail in which a batten or a light spar can be placed
f. : a space between two bowling pins
g. : a cavity made in a piece of meat by a deep cut or removal of a bone to permit the insertion of stuffing
a pocket in a shoulder of veal
a pocket roast
8. : an enclosed place or area: as
a. : a bight on a lee shore
a little pocket with a stone beach at the head of it — G.W.Brace
b. : blind alley
no pockets or dead ends in which pupils might be trapped — National Fire Codes
c. : the position of a contestant in a race hemmed in by others
9.
a. : a temporary extension to a foundry flask
b. : a large core of a foundry mold enclosed on three sides by metal and well pierced
•
- in one's pocket
- in pocket
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to put away in or as if in one's pocket
pocketed his change
pocketed his tools
pocketed his winnings
b. : to appropriate to one's own use : steal
pocketed the money he collected for charity
fail to ring up a sale, pocket the cash — H.N.Schisler
c. : to hold under one's personal control
circumvented in his attempt to pocket the legislature — E.A.Weeks
d. : to veto (a bill) by retaining it unsigned until after a legislature has adjourned
the president and some governors have the power to kill a bill by pocketing it
2. : to put up with : accept , swallow
if I calmly pocket the abuse, I am laughed at — Oliver Goldsmith
cheerfully pocketed a loss in some cases — Warner Olivier
3. : to set aside : forget about : suppress
had almost of necessity pocketed his pride — A.J.Cronin
pocket his scruples
4.
a. : to enclose in or as if in a pocket
the ring of hills in which the town is pocketed — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
it has walls … high rocky ones that pocket fern and orchis — D.C.Peattie
b. : to force into a pocket : prevent from running or moving freely : hem in
pocket a boat in such a manner that she cannot escape or get ahead — H.A.Calahan
c. : to drive (a ball) into a pocket of a pool table
5. : to form into a pocket or pouch : collect (pus) in a pocket or pouch
6. : to create or establish pockets in
pocketed the nation here and there with jobless — Time
a pocketed dress
intransitive verb
: to form pockets
an automatic press that performs shaping operations, such as bumping, heading, and pocketing — Dict. of Occupations
III. adjective
1.
a. : small or flat enough to be carried in the pocket
a pocket dictionary
a pocket flask
b. : reduced in size : smaller than others of its kind : miniature
the recent bloodless pocket civil war — Paul Hofmann
c. : condensed
a pocket drama
a pocket lecture
2. : of or relating to money : monetary
our pocket interest has something to do with our attitude — Textbooks in Education
3. : carried in or paid from one's own pocket : used for or consisting of small cash outlays
an adequate sum for pocket expenses
4. : isolated
modern art is not a pocket movement — Howard Devree
IV. noun
: an area formed by blockers from which a football quarterback attempts to pass