pocketful

English

Etymology

From pocket +‎ -ful.

Noun

pocketful (plural pocketsful or pocketfuls)

1. The amount that a pocket would hold.
   • 1978 December 9, George Mendenhall, “Harvey Milk, Mayor Moscone Slain in Shooting”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 1:

     White came to City Hall on Monday morning, entering through a basement window, with a gun and a pocketful of bullets.

2. (figurative) A small or moderate amount.
   • 1986, Canada. Parliament, House of Commons Debates, Official Report:

     This Government came in with a pocketful of promises. Every time the Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) saw two farmers at a crossroads he had five more promises to make.

   • 2003, James Marshall, Pocketful of Nonsense:

     Much more than a pocketful of fun awaits in this collection of rhymes and poems!

Translations

the quantity that a pocket would hold

• Catalan: butxacada f
• Irish: lán póca m
• Italian: tascata f
• Norman: paûtée f (Jersey), pouch'tée f (Jersey)

References

• “pocketful”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.