I. ˈpau̇ch noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English pouche, from Middle French pouche, poche, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch poke bag — more at poke
1.
a. archaic : a small drawstring bag for carrying money : purse , poke
tester I'll have in pouch when thou shalt lack — Shakespeare
b. : a woman's handbag with soft sides and rounded shape usually mounted on a frame or closed with a zipper or drawstring — compare envelope 4
2.
a. : a sack or satchel of small or moderate size for storing or transporting goods
bullet pouch
tobacco pouch
specifically : a bag with a locking device for the transmission of first class mail or diplomatic dispatches
b. chiefly Scotland : pocket
c. : packet
hermetically sealed pouches … for use on such products as dry soups — N.A.Cooke
3. : an anatomical structure felt to resemble a pouch: as
a.
(1) : bag 3a(4)
(2) : corporation 6
(3) : a fluid-filled cyst or sac
b. : marsupium 1a, 1b
c. : cheek pouch
d. : the large gular space at the base of the lower mandible of a pelican
e. : a saccular plant part (as a silique or utricle)
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
transitive verb
1. : to put into or as if into a pouch : pocket
sold justice and pouched the price of every pardon — Francis Hackett
specifically : to put (as mail or dispatches) into locked bags
the Baltimore mail was sorted … and pouched by 4:20 A.M. — Sat. Eve. Post
government of a twentieth-century diplomat pouches to him … a truly generous quantity of informative material — R.S.Simpson
2.
a. archaic : swallow
allowing the fish … to pouch the bait — Thomas Best
b. : to store or carry in a pouch in the mouth
squirrels pouching acorns
3. : to make puffy or protuberant
ill health had … pouched the loose flesh under his eyes — Ellen Glasgow
up comes the great bill, pouched with fish — A.J.Cronin
intransitive verb
1. : to form a pouch : puff out : protrude
snow-white hair and a pouching bosom — Marguerite Steen
2. : to transmit mail or dispatches to a destination in a locked bag
III. ˈpōch
dialect England
variant of poach