pocketbook

[ pok-it-book ]

noun

1. handbag ( def 1 ).
2. a person's financial resources or means:

   The price was out of reach of his pocketbook.

3. Also pock·et book. a book, usually paperback, that is small enough to carry in one's coat pocket.
4. British.
   1. a notebook for carrying in one's pocket.
   2. a wallet or billfold.

pocketbook

/ ˈpɒkɪtˌbʊk /

noun

1. a small bag or case for money, papers, etc, carried by a handle or in the pocket
2. modifier concerned with personal finance

   pocketbook issues

Word History and Origins

Origin of pocketbook¹

First recorded in 1610–20; pocket + book

Example Sentences

As lawmakers introduced bills that tighten up abortion rights and further affirm California as the Trump antithesis, California leaders were more tempered in their messaging and put their focus on bipartisan pocketbook issues.

From Los Angeles Times

For starters, the cultural left is not the same as the pocketbook left.

From Salon

“It’s going to be a jolt to the system, and at the end of the day it will be impactful to consumer pocketbooks,” said Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Assn.

From Los Angeles Times

That shift, experts say, is a sign that the immigrant experience is less of a factor in the diverse Latino population than pocketbook and quality-of-life issues like crime.

From Los Angeles Times

It was an “extraordinary shift,” as pollsters put it, and a sign of the changing views of a Latino population increasingly distanced from the immigrant experience and more focused on pocketbook issues.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• handbag
• pouch
• purse
• suitcase
• wallet