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Glite Dictionary
vest pocket

vest pocket

3 4.2
A small pocket inside a vest for holding a watch or small items
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : bolsillo de chaleco
  • He goes into his vest pocket and hands an envelope to me.
  • reached into his vest pocket
  • watch in his vest pocket
  • patted his vest pocket

He goes into his vest pocket and hands an envelope to me.

Examples

  • " Melchior pulled a gold watch from a vest pocket, looked at it briefly, and replaced it.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Jimmy pulled the red stone pipe from his vest pocket.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Here, reach in my vest pocket.

    Forgiven (2011)

  • " He reached inside his vest pocket, pulled something out.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • I found a $100 bill in his vest pocket and about $30 in his pants.

    The Maltese Falcon (1941)

  • From his vest pocket, he took a book of papers like cigarette papers, except that they were blue and pink.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Ellie reaches into her vest pocket.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The Quaker took a small sack of coins from a vest pocket.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Rafe was glad he'd slipped the letter into his vest pocket, where it was out of sight.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • He reached into his vest pocket to pull out his pocket watch.

Synonyms

pocket
vsvest pocket
935 1.0

A small bag sewn into clothing to hold small things

is a small compartment in men's vests for watches and other small items
watch pocket
vsvest pocket
  • Archaic
5.1

A small space in a vest for keeping a watch you carry

is a small compartment in men's vests for watches and other small items

Surface Forms

vest pocket singular
vest pockets plural

Morphology

vest + pocket

The meaning is directly compositional: a 'vest pocket' is simply a 'pocket' located in a 'vest'. This follows a common noun+noun compounding pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Vest pocket comes from men's clothing: a vest had a small pocket sewn inside to hold a watch or other tiny items. That's why 'vest pocket' now means a 'very small, handy pocket' used to keep small things safe.