carpetbag

[ kahr-pit-bag ]

noun
  1. a bag for traveling, especially one made of carpeting.

verb (used without object),car·pet·bagged, car·pet·bag·ging.
  1. to journey with little luggage.

  2. to act as a carpetbagger.

Origin of carpetbag

1
First recorded in 1820–30; carpet + bag

Words Nearby carpetbag

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use carpetbag in a sentence

  • In one hand he carried an ancient carpetbag, which he deposited on the floor, while he stared around at the grandeur of the place.

  • Her own nightdress had been left in the time-worn carpetbag that Uncle David had forgotten to take out of the “handsome cab.”

    Turn About Eleanor | Ethel M. Kelley
  • She wants the doll that David left in that carpetbag of hers he forgot to take out of the ‘Handsome cab.’

    Turn About Eleanor | Ethel M. Kelley
  • I could fit myself out in the city, and take the articles along with me in an extra valise or carpetbag.

    Making His Way | Horatio Alger, Jr.
  • He carried in his hand a carpetbag lent him by Mr. Leavitt, which contained his small stock of under-clothing.

    Bound to Rise | Horatio Alger

British Dictionary definitions for carpetbag

carpetbag

/ (ˈkɑːpɪtˌbæɡ) /


noun
  1. a travelling bag originally made of carpeting

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012