Noun

Singular pocket

Plural pockets

pocket (plural pockets)

1. A bag stitched to an item of clothing, used for carrying small items.
2. (sports, billiards, pool, snooker) An indention and cavity with a net sack or similar structure (into which the balls are to be struck) at each corner and one centered on each side of a pool or snooker table.
3. An enclosed volume of one substance surrounded by another.

   The drilling expedition discovered a pocket of natural gas.

4. An area of land surrounded by a loop of a river (Australian English)
5. (Australian rules football) The area of the field to the side of the goal posts (four pockets in total on the field, one to each side of the goals at each end of the ground). The pocket is only a roughly defined area, extending from the behind post, at an angle, to perhaps about 30 meters out.
6. (American Football) The region directly behind the offensive line in which the quarterback executes plays.

A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets may slso be attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag or pouch.

In European clothing pockets began by being hung like purses from a belt, which could be concealed beneath a coat or jerkin and reached through a slit in the outer garment.

The word appears in Middle English as poket, and is taken from a Norman diminutive of Old French poke, pouque, modern poche, cf. pouch. The form "poke" is now only used dialectically, or in such proverbial sayings as "a pig in a poke".

Historically, the term pocket referred to:

• A pouch worn around the waist by women in the 17th to 19th centuries, mentioned in the rhyme Lucy Locket. Also called a hanging pocket.
• A sack in which hops were stored, generally with a capacity of 168–224 lb (76–102 kg).

A watch pocket is a small pocket designed to hold an old style pocket watch, sometimes found in men's trousers and waistcoats and in traditional blue jeans.