Vest-pocket

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Small enough to be carried in a vest pocket or other small container. not-comparable

    "She carried a vest-pocket copy of the New Testament in her purse at all times."

  2. 2
    Smaller than would ordinarily be expected. broadly, not-comparable

    "Levi's apartment was a vest-pocket Graceland; every inch of wall and shelf space was covered by Elvis memorabilia."

Synonyms

All synonyms
babybantambantycompactdiminutivedwarf

Example

More examples

"She carried a vest-pocket copy of the New Testament in her purse at all times."

Etymology

From vest + pocket, referring to the pockets of a suit vest, which are only sized to hold watches, handkerchiefs, wallets, and similarly small items.

More for "vest-pocket"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.