piggyback

[ pig-ee-bak ]

adverb

1. on the back or shoulders:

   The little girl rode her father piggyback.

adjective

1. astride the back or shoulders:

   a piggyback ride.

2. sharing commercial time, space, etc.:

   piggyback advertising.

3. carryable or attachable:

   a piggyback turbine unit.

4. added or tacked on; supplementary:

   a piggyback clause.

5. noting or pertaining to the carrying of one vehicle or the like by another, as the carrying of loaded truck trailers on flatcars.

verb (used with object)

1. to attach or ally to as or as if a part of the same thing:

   to piggyback human rights agreements with foreign aid.

2. to carry (somebody) on the back or shoulders.
3. to carry (truck trailers) by railroad on flatcars.
4. Radio and Television Slang. to advertise (two or more products) in the same commercial.

verb (used without object)

1. to be transported aboard or atop another carrier:

   The space shuttle piggybacked on the airplane.

2. to use, appropriate, or exploit the availability, services, or facilities of another:

   private clinics piggybacking on federal healthcare facilities.

3. to carry truck trailers by railroad on flatcars.

noun

1. a house trailer designed to fit over a pickup truck.
2. a truck trailer carried on a flatcar.
3. anything that operates in connection with or as part of another.

piggyback

/ ˈpɪɡɪˌbæk /

noun

1. a ride on the back and shoulders of another person
2. a system whereby a vehicle, aircraft, etc, is transported for part of its journey on another vehicle, such as a flat railway wagon, another aircraft, etc

adverb

1. on the back and shoulders of another person
2. on or as an addition to something else

adjective

1. of or for a piggyback

   a piggyback ride

   piggyback lorry trains

2. of or relating to a type of heart transplant in which the transplanted heart functions in conjunction with the patient's own heart

verb

1. to give (a person) a piggyback on one's back and shoulders
2. to transport (one vehicle) on another
3. introften foll byon to exploit an existing resource, system, or product
4. tr to attach to or mount on (an existing piece of equipment or system)

Word History and Origins

Origin of piggyback¹

First recorded in 1580–90; alteration of pickaback

Example Sentences

Wong continued, “I liked getting a piggyback ride from Steven at the end. That was really funny. That was fun because every time I would get on his back, he would ‘pop’ a little bit.

From Salon

The Europa Clipper spacecraft will chase a European mission that left last year, but using a cosmic piggyback, it will overtake and arrive first.

From BBC

First, the lawsuit piggybacks on a report issued last month by the Republican staff of the House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by that outstanding blowhard, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

From Los Angeles Times

It created an open architecture for third-party developers to piggyback on; the fundamental idea was that by extending the system’s capabilities, those other developers made Microsoft’s central system more valuable.

From Los Angeles Times

The breakthrough is to prove it can be done by piggybacking on the heat generated by another heavy industry – steel recycling.

From BBC

Related Words

• add to
• amplify
• boost
• build up
• develop
• enhance
• enlarge
• expand
• heighten
• inflate
• intensify
• multiply
• reinforce
• strengthen