POCKET VETO • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Pocket veto

Pocket veto n. The retention by the President of the United States of a bill unsigned so that it does not become a law, in virtue of the following constitutional provision (): "If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law." Also, an analogous retention of a bill by a State governor.