- [[t]pɒ̱kɪt[/t]]
♦♦♦pockets, pocketing, pocketed1) N-COUNT: oft poss N, n N A pocket 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 pocket and switched it on...
The man stood with his hands in his pockets.
2) N-COUNT You can use pocket 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 pocket. If you approve of something because it is very cheap to buy, you can say that it suits people's pockets.When you come to choosing a dining table, it really is worth digging deep into your pocket for the best you can afford.
...ladies' fashions to suit all shapes, sizes and pockets...
You would be buying a piece of history as well as a boat, if you put your hand in your pocket for this one...
We don't believe that they have the economic reforms in place which would justify putting huge sums of Western money into their pockets.
3) ADJ: ADJ n You use pocket to describe something that is small enough to fit into a pocket, often something that is a smaller version of a larger item....a pocket calculator.
...my pocket edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.
4) N-COUNT: usu N of n A pocket 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.Trapped in a pocket of air, they had only 40 minutes before the tide flooded the chamber...
The newly established government controls the bulk of the city apart from a few pockets of resistance.
5) VERB If someone who is in possession of something valuable such as a sum of money pockets it, they steal it or take it for themselves, even though it does not belong to them.[V n] Dishonest importers would be able to pocket the VAT collected from customers.
6) VERB If you say that someone pockets 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][V n] He pocketed more money from this tournament than in his entire three years as a professional.
7) VERB If someone pockets something, they put it in their pocket, for example because they want to steal it or hide it.[V n] Anthony snatched his letters and pocketed them...
[V n] He pocketed a wallet containing ₤40 cash from the bedside of a dead man.
8) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that some money is burning a hole in someone's pocket, you mean that they want to spend it as soon as possible.It's Saturday, you're down the high street and you've got a few quid burning a hole in your pocket.
9) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR (disapproval) If you say that someone is in someone else's pocket, 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 pocket.
10) PHRASE: V inflects (disapproval) If you say that someone is lining their own or someone else's pockets, 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 pockets from customer accounts.
...a government that ignores the needs of the majority in order to line the pockets of the favoured few.
11) PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v If you are out of pocket, 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.→ See also out-of-pocketThey were well out of pocket - they had spent far more in Hollywood than he had earned...
Statements with errors could still be going out, but customers who notify us will not be left out of pocket.
12) PHRASE: V and N inflect If someone picks your pocket, they steal something from your pocket, usually without you noticing.They were more in danger of having their pockets picked than being shot at.
English dictionary. 2008.
