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pocket flask

pocket flask

4.6
A small flat container for carrying alcohol in a pocket
  • noun
  • /ˈpɑkɪt flæsk/
  • US
translation icon : petaca
  • Roscoe ordered gin and also asked Mahoney to fill his pocket flask for the long night ahead.

Examples

  • When he pulled a silver pocket flask out of his pocket and took a drink, I thought of what my father would say if he knew I was on the road with Defoe Michaels.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Before dinner, she poured some whiskey into her pocket flask to enjoy later during the concert.

  • He discreetly took out his pocket flask to share a drink with his friends at the park.

  • During the hike, he reached for his pocket flask to sip on some bourbon as they rested.

Synonyms

flask
vspocket flask
24 3.7

A narrow-necked bottle used to hold liquids, like in labs or for alcohol

is narrower in use, focusing on small flat spirit containers rather than general bottles
hipflask
vspocket flask
  • UK
6.5

A small flat container for carrying alcohol in a pocket

is the same small flat container but uses the other name
flacket
vspocket flask
  • Archaic
9.9

A small bottle for carrying water or wine

is the modern specific term for small flat spirit containers

How Portable

pocket flask
  • US
4.6
canteen
27 2.6
bottle
1.0

Surface Forms

pocket flask singular
pocket flasks plural

Morphology

pocket + flask

The meaning is directly derived from combining 'pocket' (a small pouch) and 'flask' (a small container for liquids): it clearly denotes a flask intended to be carried in a pocket. This noun–noun compounding follows a transparent and cross-linguistically common composition pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The name pocket flask comes from the words pocket, the small space in your clothes, and flask, a flat small bottle for alcohol. Picture someone slipping a flat bottle into their jacket pocket to take a quick sip later. That image explains why pocket flask means 'a small, flat container carried in a pocket for alcohol'.