Word.ws English Dictionary

in the pocket

in the pocket prepositional phrase: synonym of in the zone, playing perfectly in time, perfectly in sync with others, or with a perfect groove. Also the alternative form of in one's pocket.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (slang) Synonym of in the zone, playing perfectly in time, perfectly in sync with others, or with a perfect groove.
    • Throughout The Late, Late Show, Staton is right on the money (or right in the pocket, as musicians say)...2010, Will Friedwald, “Dakota Staton”, in A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, page 448
    • I've never thought that the groove was the beat; I always saw it as the space between the beats. I believe that's where the phrase "in the pocket" originated.2013, Loren Weisman, The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business, page 229
    Synonyms:
    in the zone, playing perfectly in time, perfectly in sync with others, or with a perfect groove
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, pocket.
    • The allure of all this athleticism at quarterback is very strong right now, but when push comes to shove, most of the people I talk to would go with the guy in the pocket. The scrambling quarterback is like a beautiful woman -- awfully enticing, but in the end she'll break your heart.2001 Sept. 3, Brian Billick, quoted in "Run or Gun?", ESPN the Magazine, Vol. IV, No. 18

Also used as

in the pocket is also the alternative form of in one's pocket.

Examples of in the pocket in a sentence

  • Hell yes, use that take. She was in the pocket.
  • Musicians who play funk and Latin tunes refer to the groove as the sense of being "in the pocket," while jazz players refer to the groove as the sense that a song is really "cooking" or "swinging"...2016, Bobby Owsinski, The Music Producer's Handbook, 2nd edition:
  • Use his approach for both songs to keep your rhythms in the pocket.2019, Joseph Church, Rock in the Musical Theatre, page 173:
  • All forms of popular music require musicians to feel the groove and to play in the pocket (playing within the feel of the rhythm section).2021, Michael Zager, Music Production, page 97:

Synonyms of in the pocket

  • in the zone
  • playing perfectly in time
  • perfectly in sync with others
  • or with a perfect groove

Questions about in the pocket

What does in the pocket mean?
In the pocket means synonym of in the zone, playing perfectly in time, perfectly in sync with others, or with a perfect groove.
How do you use in the pocket in a sentence?
Hell yes, use that take. She was in the pocket.
What part of speech is in the pocket?
In the pocket is a prepositional phrase.

Words near in the pocket in the dictionary

  1. in the person of
  2. in the picture
  3. in the pink
  4. in the pink of health
  5. in the pipeline
  6. in the pocket
  7. in the pocket of someone
  8. in the post
  9. in the process
  10. in the process of
  11. in the pudding club

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in the pocket (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “in the pocket.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/in_the_pocket. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.