pickaback

UK: /ˈpɪkəˌbæk/ US: (pik′ə bak′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pick•a•back  (pik′ə bak′), adv., adj. 

1. piggyback (defs. 1, 2).

• 1555–65; earlier a pickback; see pick¹, back¹

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pickaback / ˈpɪkəˌbæk/ noun , adverb , adjective , verb

1. another word for piggyback

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pig•gy•back /ˈpɪgiˌbæk/   adv. 

1. on the back or shoulders:
   The child rode piggyback on her father.

adj. 

2. on the back or shoulders:
   [before a noun] a piggyback ride.
3. attached to, carried on, or added to something else:
   a piggyback clause concerning the property.
4. Rail Transport of or relating to the carrying of one vehicle on another, as the carrying of truck trailers on flatcars.

v. 

5. to carry on the back or shoulders:
   [~ + object] He piggybacked his daughter into her crib.
6. to (cause to) be attached to, carried on, or added to something else: [~ + object]
   They piggybacked a clause to the amendment.
   [no object]
   The amendment will probably piggyback on the other bill.
7. Rail Transport [~ + object] to carry (one vehicle) on another.

n. [countable]

8. a piggyback ride.
9. Rail Transport a vehicle on which another is carried.
10. anything attached to or carried on something else.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pig•gy•back  (pig′ē bak′), adv. 

1. on the back or shoulders:
   The little girl rode piggyback on her father.

adj. 

2. astride the back or shoulders:
   a piggyback ride.
3. sharing commercial time, space, etc.:
   piggyback advertising.
4. carryable or attachable:
   a piggyback turbine unit.
5. added or tacked on;
   supplementary:
   a piggyback clause.
6. Rail Transport noting or pertaining to the carrying of one vehicle or the like by another, as the carrying of loaded truck trailers on flatcars.

v.t. 

7. to attach or ally to as or as if a part of the same thing:
   to piggyback human rights agreements with foreign aid.
8. to carry (somebody) on the back or shoulders.
9. Rail Transport to carry (truck trailers) by railroad on flatcars.
10. Show Business [Radio and Television Slang.] to advertise (two or more products) in the same commercial.

v.i. 

11. to be transported aboard or atop another carrier:
    The space shuttle piggybacked on the airplane.
12. to use, appropriate, or exploit the availability, services, or facilities of another:
    private clinics piggybacking on federal health-care facilities.
13. Rail Transport to carry truck trailers by railroad on flatcars.

n. 

14. a house trailer designed to fit over a pickup truck.
15. Rail Transport a truck trailer carried on a flatcar.
16. anything that operates in connection with or as part of another.

Also, pickaback (for defs. 1, 2).

• alteration of pickaback 1580–90

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

piggyback / ˈpɪɡɪˌbæk/, pickaback 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