piggyback

1 of 4

adverb

pig·gy·back ˈpi-gē-ˌbak

variants or less commonly pickaback

ˈpi-gē-

ˈpi-kə-

: up on the back and shoulders

: on or as if on the back of another

especially : on a railroad flatcar

piggyback

2 of 4

noun

variants or less commonly pickaback

: the act of carrying piggyback

: the movement of loaded truck trailers on railroad flatcars

piggyback

3 of 4

adjective

variants or less commonly pickaback

: marked by being up on the shoulders and back

a child needs hugging, tussling, and piggyback rides—

Benjamin Spock

: carried or transported piggyback: such as

: of or relating to the hauling of truck trailers on railroad flatcars

: being or relating to something carried into space as an extra load by a vehicle (such as a spacecraft)

piggyback

4 of 4

verb

variants or less commonly pickaback

piggybacked also pickabacked; piggybacking also pickabacking; piggybacks also pickabacks

transitive verb

: to carry up on the shoulders and back

: to haul (something, such as a truck trailer) by railroad car

: to set up or cause to function in conjunction with something larger, more important, or already in existence or operation

intransitive verb

: to function or be carried on or as if on the back of another

Examples of piggyback in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

That’s because the mission, called Janus, was supposed to launch last year as a piggyback payload on the same rocket with NASA’s much larger Psyche spacecraft, which will fly to a 140-mile-wide (225-kilometer) metal-rich asteroid—also named Psyche—for more than two years of close-up observations. —

Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 11 July 2023 María was now nineteen kilos, a weight Lil still carried with relative ease, piggyback or fireman. —

Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for piggyback

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'piggyback.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adverb

alteration of earlier a pick pack, of unknown origin

First Known Use

Adverb

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1784, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1895, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of piggyback was in 1565

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Piggyback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piggyback. Accessed 29 May. 2024.

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Kids Definition

piggyback

1 of 2 adverb or adjective

pig·gy·back ˈpig-ē-ˌbak

variants also pickaback

ˈpig-ē-ˌbak

ˈpik-ə-

: on the back or shoulders

: on a railroad flatcar

piggyback

2 of 2 noun

: the act of carrying piggyback

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piggyback

adverb

noun

adjective

verb

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Examples of piggyback in a Sentence

Word History

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Dictionary Entries Near piggyback

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Kids Definition