backpack

Etymology

From back + pack.

noun

1. A knapsack, sometimes mounted on a light frame, but always supported by straps, worn on a person’s back for the purpose of carrying things, especially when hiking, or on a student's back when carrying books.
   Rachel discovered that she could also keep things in her backpack that were important to her, nobody would know about them because they would be hidden. These important things included a small round rock that she had found […] 2011, Thelma J. Miller, What's in Your Backpack?, page 8
   Many seats carry reservation labels, while the luggage racks are festooned with backpacks and suitcases. November 30 2022, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 77
2. A similarly placed item containing a parachute or other life-support equipment.

verb

1. (intransitive) To hike and camp overnight in backcountry with one's gear carried in a backpack.
2. (intransitive) To engage in low-cost, generally urban, travel with minimal luggage and frugal accommodation.
3. (transitive, rare) To place or carry (an item or items) in a backpack.
   I planned to go to jungle today and backpacked my things which contained food and a note book. 2020, Akara September 2020 Magazine, page 103