baggage

American  

[bag-ij] / ˈbæg ɪdʒ /

noun

• baggage
  plural

1. trunks, suitcases, etc., used in traveling; luggage.

2. the portable equipment of an army.

3. things that encumber one's freedom, progress, development, or adaptability; impediments.

   intellectual baggage that keeps one from thinking clearly; neurotic conflicts that arise from struggling with too much emotional baggage.

4. Archaic.

   1. a worthless woman.

   2. a prostitute or disreputable woman.

   3. Often Disparaging. a pert, playful young woman or girl.

      a pretty baggage; a saucy baggage.

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baggage British  

/ ˈbæɡɪdʒ /

noun

1. 1. suitcases, bags, etc, packed for a journey; luggage

   2. ( as modifier )

      baggage car

2. an army's portable equipment

3. informal

   1. a pert young woman

   2. an immoral woman or prostitute

4. informal a cantankerous old woman

5. informal previous knowledge and experience that a person may use or be influenced by in new circumstances

   cultural baggage

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• baggage
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of baggage

1400–50; late Middle English bagage < Middle French, equivalent to Old French bag ( ues ) bundles, packs (perhaps < Old Norse; see bag) + -age -age

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Explanation

Baggage is another word for the bags you put your stuff in when you travel. It’s also known as "luggage" or "suitcases." If someone says you have baggage but you’re not holding anything, they’re talking about emotional baggage. Baggage is the fancy suitcase you collect from an airport carousel or the duffel bag you get out of the trunk. It’s any travel bag you have your personal belongings in. Baggage can also refer to emotions from the past that get in the way of the present. In military terminology, baggage is any equipment that can be carried or hauled along. This is the original definition, from the Old French baggage, "military equipment," from bague, for "bag or bundle."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

baggage

I know that’s the case for a lot of Cuban Americans; there’s so much baggage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

But they also still carry this baggage, and it would be useful for these companies to unload it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Some also described sleeping on airport floors and chaos at baggage reclaim as thousands looked to reorganise their plans, while others have been stranded abroad while trying to get back to the UK.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Phil White also spoke of incredibly busy scenes in the airport's baggage reclaim hall, describing it as "carnage" as an influx of disrupted passengers tried to find their luggage.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

We left Bill's baggage at the station, and he bought a ticket to Paris.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

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Related Words

• equipment
• gear
• luggage
• paraphernalia

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