man-bag

British

noun

informal a small bag, usually with a shoulder strap, carried by a man and designed to contain personal articles

"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

Etymology

Origin of man-bag

C20: in allusion to _handbag

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Sporting a man-bag was Yohannes Mekonnen, known as Jahnny, a dancer and content reviewer who won an award for video production at the ceremony.

From BBC • Dec. 11, 2025

They are well-groomed and fashionably dressed, accessorised with the latest man-bag, and excessively concerned with their looks.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2022

He even went accidentally high-fashion with a man-bag and, in the episode where he wore all of Chandler’s clothes, predicted Balenciaga-esque layering.

From The Guardian • Nov. 23, 2020

Back in 2016, GQ magazine investigated "A brief history of the man-bag" and traced its origins back to Renaissance girth pouches.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2018

No, I did not start jamming fistfuls of purloined Sweet’N Low sachets into my man-bag.

From Slate • Jun. 9, 2014

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023