backpack

[bak-pak]

noun

1. a pack or knapsack, often of canvas or nylon, to be carried on one's back, sometimes supported on a lightweight metal frame strapped to the body.

2. a piece of equipment designed to be used while being carried on the back.

verb (used without object)

1. to go on a hike, using a backpack.

   We went backpacking in the Adirondacks.

verb (used with object)

1. to place or carry in a backpack or on one's back.

backpack

/ ˈbækˌpæk /

noun

1. a rucksack or knapsack

2. a pack carried on the back of an astronaut, containing oxygen cylinders, essential supplies, etc

verb

1. (intr) to travel about or go hiking with a backpack

2. (tr) to transport (food or equipment) by backpack

Other Word Forms

• backpacker noun
• backpacking noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of backpack¹

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; back ¹ + pack ¹

Example Sentences

He was carrying a small black and orange backpack.

Read more on BBC

His clothes are clean, and he’s wearing a backpack.

Read more on Salon

He downed a Diet Mountain Dew, then revealed his secret weapon—three cans of Red Bull in his backpack.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Roske arrived shortly after 1 a.m. on the morning of June 8, emerging from the taxi wearing dark clothes, with a suitcase and backpack.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Picnic in our backpacks, my husband and I hiked in from the Palomarin Headlands — about 2.5 miles — along cliffs where you can spot gray and humpback whales, and shaded paths where dappled shadows dance.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• knapsack