Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

backpack

/ˈbæk.pæk/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.78 in modern English

Syllables: back-pack
IPA: /ˈbæk.pæk/

24

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A knapsack, sometimes mounted on a light frame, but always supported by straps, worn on a person’s back for the purpose of carrying things, especially when hiking, or on a student's back when carrying books.

noun

A similarly placed item containing a parachute or other life support equipment.

verb

To hike and camp overnight in backcountry with one's gear carried in a backpack.

Intransitive verb

verb

To engage in low-cost, generally urban, travel with minimal luggage and frugal accommodation.

Intransitive verb

verb

To place or carry (an item or items) in a backpack.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Rachel discovered that she could also keep things in her backpack that were important to her, nobody would know about them because they would be hidden. These important things included a small round rock that she had found […]"
"Many seats carry reservation labels, while the luggage racks are festooned with backpacks and suitcases."
"I spent a month backpacking in the Rockies."
"Astronauts backpack oxygen during spacewalks."
"I planned to go to jungle today and backpacked my things which contained^([sic]) food and a note book."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der.? Proto-Germanic *baką Proto-West Germanic *bak Old English bæc Middle English bak English back Proto-Germanic *pakkô Proto-West Germanic *pakkō Old English *pæcca? ▲ Proto-West Germanic *pakkō Old Dutch *pakko Middle Dutch pakbor.? Middle English pak English pack English backpack From back + pack. First attested in 1896.

Origin

First known use: First attested in 1896

Usage

Inflected Forms

backpacks (plural) back pack (alternative) bagpack (alternative) backpacks (present, singular) backpacking (participle, present) backpacked (participle, past) backpacked (past)

Derived Forms

backpackable backpacker backpacking fastpack packing slackpack

Phrases

backpack funding backpack nuke backpack rap I lost my backpack

Synonyms

book bag bookbag booksack haversack knapsack packsack rucksack back pack

Questions

How do you pronounce backpack?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbæk.pæk/.
What does backpack mean?: A knapsack, sometimes mounted on a light frame, but always supported by straps, worn on a person’s back for the purpose of carrying things, especially when hiking, or on a student's back when carrying books.
Where does backpack come from?: First known use: First attested in 1896.

How to pronounce backpack

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “backpack”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbæk.pæk/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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