I. adverb
or pick·a·back also pig-a-back ˈpig]ēˌbak, ]iˌb- sometimes -ik] or ]əˌb-
Etymology: alteration of earlier a pick pack, a pickback, of unknown origin
1. : up on the back and shoulders
had her child with her … astraddle on her hip, or piggyback — John Bennett
shows a flood victim being carried from his home piggyback — Altoona (Pa.) Mirror
2. : on a railroad flatcar
the trailer rode piggyback from coast to coast
II. noun
or pickaback also pig-a-back “
1. : the act of carrying piggyback : the state of being carried piggyback
beg daddy for a piggyback — Parents' Magazine
2. : the process of loading, transporting, and unloading truck trailers on railroad flatcars or cars of special design
estimate the cost of shipping by piggyback
III. adjective
or pickaback also pig-a-back “
1. : marked by being up on the shoulders and back
a child needs hugging, tussling, and piggyback rides — Benjamin Spock
2. : of or relating to the hauling of truck trailers on railroad flatcars
piggyback service
piggyback cars
IV. transitive verb
1. : to carry up on the shoulders and back
swum with them and piggybacked them and attended them — R.P.Smith
piggybacking a crippled classmate to school for a whole year — Saturday Review
2. : to haul (as a truck trailer) by railroad car
intransitive verb
: to haul truck trailers usually loaded with commodities on railroad cars
the railroad has been piggybacking for quite a number of years
V. adjective
1. : of, relating to, or being something (as a capsule or package) carried into space as an extra load by a vehicle (as a spacecraft or rocket)
2. : of, relating to, or being a radio or television commercial that is presented in addition to other commercials during one commercial break
3. : supplemental : additional
• piggyback adverb
VI. transitive verb
: to set up or cause to function in conjunction with something larger or more important
school bus drivers' union is piggybacking its demand for recognition … on the teachers' strike — New Orleans (La.) Times-Picayune
intransitive verb
: to function or be carried as if on the back of another