pocket veto

noun

A (de facto) veto of a bill by the US President by restricting Congressional action on the bill, as, figuratively, by carrying the bill in his pocket until the deadline for signing it has passed, at a time when Congress has adjourned.

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Meanings

nounpocket veto (plural pocket vetoes or pocket vetos)

plural pocket vetoes · plural pocket vetos

  1. USA (de facto) veto of a bill by the US President by restricting Congressional action on the bill, as, figuratively, by carrying the bill in his pocket until the deadline for signing it has passed, at a time when Congress has adjourned.
  2. governmentAny similar process by which an executive prevents a bill from becoming law by failing to sign it, but without expressly vetoing it.

Origin

From the idea of the executive's holding the bill in a coat pocket.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pocket veto. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pocket%20veto

MLA

“pocket veto.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pocket%20veto. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pocket veto,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pocket%20veto.

Source: pocket veto on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.