baggage
- 01 B1 Intermediate
the bags, suitcases, and personal things you take with you when you travel.
portable containers such as suitcases and bags used for carrying personal belongings during travel. Uncountable in this sense.
Simple“The airline lost my baggage, so I had to buy new clothes for the wedding.”
In context“Passengers are advised to remain with their baggage at all times while navigating the terminal to avoid security interventions.”
UsageAlways used as an uncountable noun; do not pluralise as 'baggages'.
PitfallI have three baggages to check in. I have three pieces of baggage to check in.Baggage is uncountable. To count it, use 'pieces of baggage' or 'bags'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the bad experiences or feelings from your past that affect your current life or relationships.
metaphorical psychological burdens or past experiences that impede a person's current emotional functioning or interpersonal relationships.
Simple“We all have some emotional baggage from our previous relationships.”
In context“He entered the new partnership carrying significant professional baggage, which made him hesitant to trust his colleagues' creative decisions.”
Teacher's tipOften used in the phrase 'emotional baggage' to describe someone's complicated history.
- 03 C2 Proficiency
the equipment and supplies that an army carries with it.
the portable equipment, supplies, and support machinery of an army. Often refers to the 'baggage train' in a historical context.
Simple“The army's progress was slow because of the heavy baggage they had to move.”
In context“The general ordered the baggage to be left behind to ensure the infantry could reach the mountain pass before the enemy's arrival.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
an old, rude word for a woman who is seen as annoying or bold.
a derogatory term for a woman, particularly one perceived as saucy or impudent. This sense is largely obsolete in modern speech.
Simple“In the old play, the character calls the servant a 'saucy baggage' for talking back.”
In context“The protagonist's aunt dismissed the young girl as a mere baggage, showing little respect for her social standing.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is archaic and may be found in 18th or 19th-century literature; it is not used in modern conversation.
Synonymshussyminx
From Middle English bagage, from Old French bagage, baguage, from bague (“bundle, sack”), of Germanic/North Germanic origin, probably from the same ultimate source as Old Norse baggi (“pack, bundle”). Compare also bag. By surface analysis, bag + -age. The old meaning of "nasty woman" likely derives from the sense of "something awkward to be carried" (compare faggot).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.