piggyback
verb · adjective · noun · adverb
Simple meaning
Support on the back and shoulders.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pigeebakSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɪɡibæk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Support on the back and shoulders
“He piggybacked her child so she could see the show.”
transitive
To carry (someone) on the back or shoulders.
Ride on someone's shoulders or back
transitive
To transport (a lorry/truck) on a flatbed railway wagon.
transitive
To enter a secured area at the same time along with (someone having authorized access); to tailgate.
adjective
On somebody's back or shoulders.
Pertaining to transportation of goods where one transportation unit is carried on the back of something else. For example, a truck on a train.
Attached or appended to something larger or more important.
noun
An act or instance of piggybacking.
countable
A ride on somebody's back or shoulders.
adverb
On somebody's back or shoulders.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Support on the back and shoulders
Used this way, piggyback is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He piggybacked her child so she could see the show.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use piggyback
- “He piggybacked her child so she could see the show.”verb
- “The trailer rode piggyback across the country.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Somebody's / support
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Vigorous perennial herb with flowers in erect racemes and having young plants develop at the junction of a leaf blade and the leafstalk.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.