Meanings
- idiomaticReady if needed, in reserve, prepared, available for use whenever it might be advantageous.
[S]he bosses around all the blokes in the European Union; has won three elections; and even has a physics degree in her back pocket.
2015 June 4, Sophy Ridge, “Angela Merkel is finally having her feminist moment”, in Telegraph, UK, retrieved 29 Jan 20193 more examples
There’s tremendous opportunities at The Bay in order to modify the offering in order to be attractive to a larger segment to the population. […] Having the Lord & Taylor banner in their back pocket, they’ve got an extra option there.
2008 July 16, David Friend, “New owner to spruce up Bay”, in The Star, Toronto, Canada, retrieved 29 Jan 2019Spitzer thinks it's an outrage that the same bankers who brought down the world economy are still firmly in place, bonuses in hand, a government guarantee in their back pocket.
2010 March 4, Sheelah Kolhatkar, “Eliot Spitzer's Mission Impossible”, in Time, retrieved 29 Jan 2019I didn’t mention my son’s remark to my parents because it seemed emotionally manipulative, but I have it in my back pocket just in case.
2010 June 18, Ben Greenman, “King of His Multigenerational Castle?”, in New York Times, retrieved 29 Jan 2019Synonyms: in one's hip pocket
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseReady if needed, in reserve, prepared, available for use whenever it might be advantageous.
Cite this entry
in one's back pocket. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20one's%20back%20pocket
“in one's back pocket.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20one's%20back%20pocket. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in one's back pocket,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20one's%20back%20pocket.
Source: in one's back pocket on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.