suitcase
Americannoun
-
suitcases
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of suitcase
Compare meaning
How does suitcase compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A suitcase is a piece of luggage that usually has a handle. If you're going on a week-long vacation, you should probably pack a suitcase to bring with you. Don't forget your toothbrush! If your suitcase is large enough, you'll have to check it when you fly on an airplane — you can carry only small suitcases into the cabin of the plane. These days most suitcases have wheels so you can roll them along behind you as you walk through a bus station or down the sidewalk. The earliest suitcases were sewn from wool, linen, or leather, often covering a wooden frame. Today, most suitcases are made of nylon or lightweight metal.
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.
See Examples For:
The tale of two women in the lonely landscape — a hardworking, rifle-wielding cafe owner and a stranded German tourist with a suitcase full of lederhosen — captivated viewers, particularly in Europe and Japan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
It seems unlikely that the coiffed and polished Harp would freely choose to forgo a real suitcase in order to carry an oversized sack like a disorganized college kid.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
Those garments and the tailor’s suitcase have gone missing, though it’s unclear why the assailant might have wanted them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Debris remains scattered across the water, including a black wheelie suitcase bobbing on the surface and a sheet of steel that appeared to have broken away from the ferry.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
“Mami said she only had one suitcase too. It must have been hard for you to let her leave Cuba by herself.”
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
My life, too unconventional for a husband and kids, would be lived out of suitcases, a dog-eared passport forever in my back pocket.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
Staff at Tabata’s hotel heard scratching in the visitors’ suitcases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Tourists hauled their suitcases over the doorstep into the fray, fresh off a flight or rushing to make one, if only they could get one last chicken finger first.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Tourists told the BBC of emergency alerts in the middle of the night, desperate drives just metres from six-storey high flames and the sight of people flocking to beaches with their suitcases.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
When they checked their bags, Chicken asked how the suitcases knew which plane to get on.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
