switchback

American  

[swich-bak] / ˈswɪtʃˌbæk /

noun

1. a highway, as in a mountainous area, having many hairpin curves.

2. Railroads. a zigzag track arrangement for climbing a steep grade.

3. British. roller coaster.

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verb (used without object)

1. (of a road, railroad track, etc.) to progress through a series of hairpin curves; zigzag.

   The road switchbacks up the mountain.

switchback British  

/ ˈswɪtʃˌbæk /

noun

1. a mountain road, railway, or track which rises and falls sharply many times or a sharp rise and fall on such a road, railway, or track

2. another word (esp Brit) for big dipper

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Etymology

Origin of switchback

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; switch + back ²

Example Sentences

She’s strong on the weird population kink known as Gen X, squeezed between the larger boomers and millennials, and the switchback road we traveled to marriage and parenthood: “We all still dressed like teenagers, though, and in the minds of the popular culture were ‘slackers,’ suffering from some form of delayed development, possibly the sad consequences of missing such key adulting experiences as a good war or a stock market crash,” Smith asserts.

From Los Angeles Times

From there, we hiked up a short but steep switchback that ended on a dirt plateau.

From Los Angeles Times

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Dec. 12 a recall pertaining to 2.6 million Stanley Switchback and Trigger Action Travel Mugs because of potential burn hazards.

From Salon

I waited with several other hikers before progressing, only to be stopped at the next switchback by an angry rattlesnake, mid-trail, tail in the air.

From Los Angeles Times

I considered all of this as I rounded the first switchback recently for the umpteenth time.

From Los Angeles Times