Back-pocket
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 To put (something) into a back pocket. transitive
"“Right.” He back-pocketed the notebook and lifted the Nikon from my bag. “Take a few steps down the hill and point toward the ruins so I can get both in one shot.”"
- 2 To put (something) aside for future use; to keep in reserve. idiomatic, transitive
"“All the lyrics talk about is humility and heartbreak, and then at the end it’s exuberance and joy,” Hines said. “The only way that fits is if the Caps win the Stanley Cup, so I sort of back-pocketed the idea for years. I put together multiple iterations of it in my head, and it just never panned out, because they never ended up finishing the deal.”"
Example
More examples"“Right.” He back-pocketed the notebook and lifted the Nikon from my bag. “Take a few steps down the hill and point toward the ruins so I can get both in one shot.”"
Etymology
From back pocket.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.