knapsack

[ nap-sak ]

noun

1. a canvas, nylon, or leather bag for clothes, food, and other supplies, carried on the back by soldiers, hikers, etc.

knapsack

/ ˈnæpˌsæk /

noun

1. a canvas or leather bag carried strapped on the back or shoulder

Other Words From

• knapsacked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of knapsack¹

1595–1605; < Low German knappsack, equivalent to knapp a bite (of food) + sack sack ¹; compare dialectal English knap to snap up, eat greedily

Word History and Origins

Origin of knapsack¹

C17: from Low German knappsack, probably from knappen to bite, snap + sack bag; related to Dutch knapzak; see sack ¹

Example Sentences

Over a soundtrack of drab violins, Adams taught concerned guardians how to “IN-spect what you EX-pect,” explaining that a gun could be hidden in a jewelry box or a pillow, a used crack pipe in a “popular knapsack,” bullets behind a picture frame, weed inside a baby doll, and cocaine on a bookshelf.

From Slate

Early on, Daphne tells us that she had “carried my life like a handkerchief knapsack at the end of a broom handle, something small and containable I could pick up and move at the drop of a hat. And I never knew what it was I was running from.”

From Seattle Times

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi set up a knapsack bomb in Manchester Arena, in northwestern England, at the end of Grande’s concert on May 22, 2017, as thousands of young fans were leaving.

From Seattle Times

They strapped on a machine that looks a bit like a knapsack and provides a robotic boost for the lower back.

From Science Daily

But instead of a knapsack, Mr. Cohen, 28, a reservist who had recently returned from fighting in Gaza to attend the university’s orientation, unshouldered his military-issue Tavor assault rifle and took a seat in the back of the class.

From New York Times

Related Words

• duffel bag
• satchel