Knapsack

//ˈnæpsæk// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    (in UK, dated or archaic) A case of canvas or leather, for carrying items on the back. US

    "1936, Arthur Ransome, Pigeon Post, ch 3. "All but Nancy carried knapsacks, with sandwiches and thermos flasks of tea. Peggy’s knapsack held Nancy’s provisions as well as her own, for on Nancy’s shoulders, instead of a knapsack, was a pigeon-basket […]""

  2. 2
    a bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder wordnet
  3. 3
    A set of values from which a subset is chosen.
Verb
  1. 1
    To go hiking while burdened with a knapsack, usually overnight or for longer.

    "My sleeping bag fell off my backpack into the water, while we were knapsacking up the mountain."

Synonyms

All synonyms
backpackrucksackbackpackback packbackpackbaggage

Example

More examples

"A middle-aged woman with a knapsack on her back seemed to be looking for a place to sit down."

Etymology

From Low German knapzak or Dutch knapzak (older form cnapsack), from Middle Dutch cnappen (“to bite with teeth”), ultimately from knappen (“to eat, crack”), of imitative origin, + sack. German Knappsack is from Dutch.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.