pouch / pouch/ • n. 1. a small bag or other flexible receptacle, typically carried in a pocket or attached to a belt: a tobacco pouch webbing with pouches for stun grenades. ∎  a lockable bag for mail or dispatches.2. a pocketlike abdominal receptacle in which marsupials carry their young during lactation. ∎  any of a number of similar animal structures, such as those in the cheeks of rodents.• v. [tr.] 1. put into a pouch: he stopped, pouched his tickets, and plodded on.2. make (part of a garment) hang like a pouch: the muslin is lightly pouched over the belt.DERIVATIVES: pouched adj.pouch·y adj.

pouch (powch) n.
1. (in anatomy) a small sac-like structure, especially occurring as an outgrowth of a larger structure. p. of Douglas a pouch of peritoneum occupying the space between the rectum and uterus. [ J. Douglas (1675–1742), British anatomist]

2. (in surgery) a sac created from a loop of intestine and used to replace a section of rectum that has been surgically removed, for example for ulcerative colitis. See also ileal pouch.

pouch small bag XIV; bag-like cavity in an animal body XV. — ONF. pouche, var. of (O)F. poche bag, pouch, (now) pocket; cf. POKE1.