Meaning & use
pocket picker
Last updated
UK/ˈpɒkɪt ˌpɪkə/
US/ˈpɑːkɪt ˌpɪkər/
Meaning
nouncountableinformal
a thief who steals money or small valuable things from people's pockets or bags, usually in crowds
Grammar: Countable: a pocket picker, several pocket pickers.
Patterns
- a pocket picker on the train
- be robbed by a pocket picker
Watch your bag on that street — there are pocket pickers about.
The police caught a pocket picker working the festival crowd.
He lost his wallet to a pocket picker in the market.
Word forms
| plural | pocket pickers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a pocket picker working the crowd
- A pocket picker was working the crowd at the station.
- be targeted by pocket pickers
- Tourists are often targeted by pocket pickers.
- a known pocket picker
- The man was a known pocket picker with a long record.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pickpocket
- The standard, everyday word for this thief; use it instead of pocket picker in most situations.
- thief
- Much more general — it covers anyone who steals, not only from pockets.
Word family
- pickpocket noun
- a thief who steals from people's pockets
- pickpocketing noun
- the crime of stealing from people's pockets
Commonly confused: pocket picker or pocket picking?
pocket picker vs pocket picking
That is the activity or crime; pocket picker is the person who does it.
Practice
A pocket picker is someone who ______.
Choose one answer.
A pocket picker is a thief who takes things from pockets. The other options use the words literally but do not describe a thief.
Make it your own
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