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Glite Dictionary
to line one's pockets

to line one's pockets

2 8.4
To take money for yourself in a dishonest way using a job or position
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : llenarse los bolsillos
  • Those celluloid tears were just another way to line his pockets.

Examples

  • Many businesses line their pockets by taking advantage of loopholes in the law.

  • Unscrupulous characters everywhere are searching for new and inventive ways to line their pockets.

    Do Ask, Do Tell: The Linda Campbell Story (2023)

  • Just for you to line your pockets.

    Blog text (27)

  • It helps to line his pockets.

    Blog text (7)

  • There is no silver lining, only corporate scumbags, who wanna line their pockets!

    RoboCop 3 (1993)

  • You are a self-absorbed charlatan who is running to line your pockets with taxpayer dollars.

    Blog text (11)

  • He is another charlatan and huckster waiting for his chance to line his pockets...

    Blog text (11)

  • Zimbabwe's business-confidence index plunged, foreign direct investment dried up, exchange rates plummeted, and fuel and commodity shortages became common while the president continued to line his pockets.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The politician was accused of using public funds to line his pockets rather than help the community.

  • It is unethical for executives to line their pockets while their employees struggle to make ends meet.

Synonyms

to feather one's nest
vsto line one's pockets
  • Informal
1 8.3

Use a job or position to get money for yourself in a dishonest way

make money for oneself without implying use of a position
to whore your talent
vsto line one's pockets
  • Offensive
9.9

To use your skill for money in ways that feel wrong or cheap

focus on taking money selfishly not on selling personal skills

Antonyms

selflessness
14 3.9

To care more about other people's needs than your own

How Dishonest

to embezzle
28 8.1
to line one's pockets
  • Informal
2 8.4
to rake off
  • NSFW
1 9.1
to pad
19 6.5

Surface Forms

line one's pockets infinitive
lined one's pockets past
lined one's pockets past participle
lining one's pockets present participle
lines one's pockets third person singular

Morphology

line + one's + pocket

The image of 'lining pockets' with something connects 'line' (cover/put inside) and 'pockets' (containers for money), so a learner who knows the words could infer a sense of putting money into one's own pockets — i.e. making money for oneself. However, the idiomatic extension that this specifically implies dishonest or selfish enrichment is a metaphorical nuance not fully predictable from the constituents, so the expression is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The idiom line one's pockets comes from the image of someone literally lining their pockets with money, tucking cash into the inside to hide and keep it. So the phrase means 'to make money for oneself', often in a dishonest or selfish way.