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pocket money

noun

money for small, current expenses.

pocket money

noun

a small weekly sum of money given to children by parents as an allowance
money for day-to-day spending, incidental expenses, etc

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Word History and Origins

Origin of pocket money¹

First recorded in 1625–35

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, spending money. Cash for incidental or minor expenses, as in They don't believe in giving the children pocket money without asking them to do chores, or Can I borrow a dollar? I'm out of all my spending money. The first term, dating from the early 1600s, alludes to keeping small sums in one's pocket; the second alludes to money that may be spent (as opposed to saved) and dates from the late 1500s.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

So the kids that were helping the teachers were being rewarded, even if it was just an extra £5 pocket money or extra free cigarettes... they were all happy to get involved.

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One contributor wrote: "We are siblings in the first and third grades of elementary school. We donated with our pocket money. Use it for research on calico cats."

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My own first summer job as a kid in search of after-school pocket money was picking cigar tobacco on a Connecticut farm just north of Hartford.

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Pressed further about Jones's comments on the BBC's Today programme she said it was a "clumsy" analogy, adding: "Of course it's not pocket money."

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Since arriving in the UAE, the government has paid for Lamis' accommodation, pocket money and stay in hospital, where on Friday she remained in a critical condition.

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pocketknife pocket mouse

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