pocketing Definition

pocket
noun

1. An extra piece sewn into or on to a garment to form a pouch for carrying things in.
2. Any container similarly fitted or attached.

Thesaurus: pouch, receptacle, sac, envelope, bag, pod.
3. Small enough to be carried in a pocket; smaller than standard. Also pocket-size.

Example: pocketbook
4. One's financial resources.

Example: well beyond my pocket
5. A rock cavity filled with ore.
6. In conditions of air turbulence: a place in the atmosphere where the air pressure drops or rises abruptly.
7. An isolated patch or area of something.

Example: pockets of unemployment
8. billiards, etc.
Any of the holes, with nets or pouches beneath them, situated around the edges of the table and into which balls are potted.

verb pocketed, pocketing

1. To put in one's pocket.
2. colloq
To take something dishonestly; to steal it.
Example: He pocketed the cash when he was alone in the office
Thesaurus: steal, conceal, appropriate, lift (slang), pilfer, pinch (slang), purloin, embezzle.
3. billiards, etc.
To drive (a ball) into a pocket.
4. To swallow or suppress (one's pride), eg to make a humble request.

Idiom: in one another's pocket

Said of two people: in close intimacy with, or dependence on, one another.

Idiom: in pocket (out of pocket)

Having gained, or lost, money on a transaction.

Idiom: in someone's pocket

Influenced or controlled by them.

Idiom: out-of-pocket expenses

Those incurred on behalf of an employer.

Idiom: line one's pockets

See under line¹.

Idiom: put one's hand in one's pocket

To be willing to contribute money.

Etymology: 15c: from French poquet, diminutive of poque, from Dutch poke pocket.