pocketful

English

Etymology

From pocket + -ful.

Noun

pocketful (plural pocketsful or pocketfuls)

  1. The amount that a pocket would hold.
    • 1978 December 9, George Mendenhall, “Harvey Milk, Mayor Moscone Slain in Shooting”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 1:
      White came to City Hall on Monday morning, entering through a basement window, with a gun and a pocketful of bullets.
  2. (figurative) A small or moderate amount.
    • 1986, Canada. Parliament, House of Commons Debates, Official Report:
      This Government came in with a pocketful of promises. Every time the Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) saw two farmers at a crossroads he had five more promises to make.
    • 2003, James Marshall, Pocketful of Nonsense:
      Much more than a pocketful of fun awaits in this collection of rhymes and poems!

Translations

References

  • pocketful”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
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