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Glite Dictionary
💵 Budget or money 👜 A small purse 📖 A small book 👛 A flat wallet
pocketbook

pocketbook

15 3.1
A small bag used to carry money and small personal items
  • noun
  • /ˈpɑːkɪtbʊk/
  • US
translation icon : bolso
  • Tucking the calling card into her pocketbook, she mounted the steps and rang the bell.
  • open a pocketbook
  • grab a pocketbook
  • carry a pocketbook

And just the side of us was the ladies pocketbook and a high heel shoe and someone's sneaker with nobody with it.

Examples

  • Then she reached for her pocketbook, pulled out the square, golden package, and handed it to him.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The other woman has dug a pen out of her pocketbook and produced a napkin.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • I really like your pocketbook.

    I Kill Giants (2017)

  • My pretend mother opened her pocketbook and took out a little brown envelope.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • I found your pocketbook at Upton and came to ask if I might return it.

    Tom Jones (1963)

  • Nana always carried a big white plastic pocketbook no matter what the season.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • My small suitcase and my pocketbook looked pathetic beside the vanity table.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • - Here's your pocketbook.

    The Help (2011)

  • Oh, girl, do you know how many guys are runnin' around this city carryin' pocketbooks?

    Sweet Charity (1969)

  • She always carries her pocketbook filled with her essentials when she goes out shopping.

Synonyms

bag
vspocketbook
∞ 1.0

A flexible container for carrying personal things like books or clothes

is a smaller, specific women's accessory for money and small items
wallet
vspocketbook
648 1.0

A small flat case for carrying money and cards

is a softer small item often carried by hand or in a larger item
purse
vspocketbook
399 1.0

A small bag for carrying money, cards, and small personal items

is the same item but the term is more regional
handbag
vspocketbook
89 1.0

A small bag women carry to hold keys, phone, and money

is the same idea but often implies a smaller, simpler form
pouch
vspocketbook
72 2.1

A small soft bag for holding things like coins or herbs

is a firmer small accessory mainly for money and small personal items
satchel
vspocketbook
28 2.5

A small bag with a strap that you wear over your shoulder to carry books or personal things

is usually smaller and intended mainly for money and small items
clutch bag
vspocketbook
1 4.1

A small handbag without straps that you carry in your hand for formal occasions

is used more widely for everyday carrying of money and items
belt bag
vspocketbook
1 2.3

A small bag with a zipper worn around the waist to carry items

is carried differently, usually by hand or inside a larger accessory

Compounds

pocketbook issue
  • Literature
4 4.8

An issue that affects people's money or jobs

How Small

moneybag
5 3.2
pocketbook
  • US
15 3.1
purse
399 1.0
tote bag
12 1.8

Surface Forms

pocketbook singular
pocketbooks plural

Morphology

pocketbook = pocket + book (semi-transparent) = pocket + book

The sense 'purse' is a metonymic extension from a small pocket-sized book (or case) to a case for carrying money; the relation exists but is not fully predictable from the components.

Etymology

Pocketbook comes from pocket meaning 'small bag' and book, and because people kept money and notes in a small book-like case, the word came to mean a small bag or purse.