pocketknife

P3O1C3K5E1T1K5N1I1F4E1

noun

A knife small enough for carrying safely and handily in a pocket; usually a folding knife (with blades or tools that the user can fold or retract into the handle).

Similar
jack-knifepocket knife
UncommonScrabble 26
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Meanings

nounpocketknife (plural pocketknives)

plural pocketknives · alternative pocket-knife · alternative pocket knife

  1. A knife small enough for carrying safely and handily in a pocket; usually a folding knife (with blades or tools that the user can fold or retract into the handle).

    Jimmy had a pocketknife, and he wandered into the drawing-room with it one day, alone, and reduced ten thousand dollars' worth of furniture to an indeterminable value in rather less than three-quarters of an hour.

    1878, Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad; About Magnanimous-Incident Literature
    1 more example

    The Army, the Navy, the Maritime Commission, and Lend-Lease demanded more and more pocketknives — for demolition kits, medical kits, aviators’ kits, electricians’ kits; knives with tools, knives with marlin spikes. The pocketknife attained a new status — as indispensable equipment for all men in uniform.

    1944, Alfred Lief, Camillus: The Story of an American Small Business

    Synonyms: jack-knife

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA knife small enough for carrying safely and handily in a pocket; usually a folding knife (with blades or tools that the user can fold or retract into the handle).

Similar
jack-knife

More synonyms by meaning

nouna knife with a blade that folds into the handle; suitable for carrying in the pocket

Similar
pocket knife
Broader
knife

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From pocket + knife.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque labana
  • labanasmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Bulgarian джобен нож, швейцарски нож
  • джобен нож (džoben nož)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • швейцарски нож (švejcarski nož)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Catalan navalla
  • navallasmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Chinese Cantonese 刀仔
  • 刀仔 (dou¹ zai²)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Chinese Mandarin 小刀
  • 小刀 (xiǎodāo)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Czech kapesní nůž
  • kapesní nůžsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Danish lommekniv
  • lommeknivsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Dutch zakmes
  • zakmessmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Esperanto poŝtranĉilo
  • poŝtranĉilosmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Finnish taskuveitsi, linkkuveitsi
  • taskuveitsismall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • linkkuveitsismall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • monitoimiveitsismall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
French canif
  • canifsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
German Taschenmesser, Klappmesser
  • Taschenmessersmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • Klappmessersmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Greek σουγιάς
  • σουγιάς (sougiás)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Hebrew אוֹלָר
  • אוֹלָר (olár)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Hungarian zsebkés, bicska
  • zsebkéssmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • bicskasmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Icelandic vasahnífur
  • vasahnífursmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Irish scian phóca
  • scian phócasmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Japanese ポケットナイフ
  • ポケットナイフ (pokettonaifu)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Korean 주머니칼
  • 주머니칼 (jumeonikal)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Māori naihi whakakopa
  • naihi whakakopasmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Norwegian Bokmål lommekniv
  • lommeknivsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Polish scyzoryk
  • scyzoryksmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Portuguese canivete
  • canivetesmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Romanian briceag, cuțit de buzunar
  • briceagsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • cuțit de buzunarsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Russian карма́нный нож, складно́й нож
  • карма́нный нож (karmánnyj nož)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • складно́й нож (skladnój nož)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • перочи́нный нож (peročínnyj nož)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Spanish navaja
  • navajasmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Swedish fickkniv, fällkniv
  • fickknivsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • fällknivsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • pennknivsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Thai มีดพก, มีดพับ
  • มีดพกsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • มีดพับ (mîit-páp)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Turkish çakı, cep bıçağı
  • çakısmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
  • cep bıçağısmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Ukrainian складаний ніж
  • складаний ніж (skladanyj niž)small knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Welsh cyllell boced
  • cyllell bocedsmall knife whose blades or tools can fold in its handle
Cite this entry
APA

pocketknife. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pocketknife

MLA

“pocketknife.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pocketknife. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pocketknife,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pocketknife.

Source: pocketknife on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.