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baggage

n.
US //ˈbæɡədʒ// UK //bˈæɡɪdʒ// bag·gage
  1. 1 suitcases for travel (n.)
    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.

    Example

    The airline lost my baggage, so I had to buy new clothes for the wedding.

    Example

    Passengers are advised to remain with their baggage at all times while navigating the terminal to avoid security interventions.

    Usage

    Always used as an uncountable noun; do not pluralise as 'baggages'.
    Pitfall
    I 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'.

  2. 2 emotional past (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    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.

    Example

    We all have some emotional baggage from our previous relationships.

    Example

    He entered the new partnership carrying significant professional baggage, which made him hesitant to trust his colleagues' creative decisions.

    Teacher's tip

    Often used in the phrase 'emotional baggage' to describe someone's complicated history.
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  1. 3 military equipment (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Formal Technical Military

    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.

    Example

    The army's progress was slow because of the heavy baggage they had to move.

    Example

    The general ordered the baggage to be left behind to ensure the infantry could reach the mountain pass before the enemy's arrival.
  2. 4 an impudent woman (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Literary

    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.

    Example

    In the old play, the character calls the servant a 'saucy baggage' for talking back.

    Example

    The protagonist's aunt dismissed the young girl as a mere baggage, showing little respect for her social standing.

    Teacher's tip

    This sense is archaic and may be found in 18th or 19th-century literature; it is not used in modern conversation.
    • hussy
    • minx
Origin

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).

Idioms1 entry

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