baggage

1 of 2

noun (1)

bag·​gage ˈba-gij 

1

: suitcases, trunks, and personal belongings of travelers : luggage

2

: transportable equipment especially of a military force

3

: intangible things (such as feelings, circumstances, or beliefs) that get in the way

emotional baggage

baggage

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

dated : a contemptible or disreputable woman

"I can buy her off. If she took money from him—the mercenary, painted baggage!—why, then, she'll take it from me."

—Edward Bulwer-Lytton

2

dated : a young woman

Examples of baggage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Mamdani has many specific attributes and won in a very unusual kind of primary where an incumbent mayor had left the party and the front-runner was dragging heavy baggage. —Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 18 July 2025

Subsequently found in the baggage and seized: 55 pounds of beef, 44 pounds of rice, 15 pounds of eggplant, cucumbers, and bell peppers, two pounds of corn seeds, and a pound of herbs. —Mike Snider, USA Today, 13 July 2025

Determined to help marry her niece and nephew into happily ever afters, Madea sets up shop with two warring couples — each with their own baggage. —Jane Lacroix, People.com, 13 July 2025

Advertisement Dunham, who wrote and directed the episode, also seeds their interactions with the distractions, evasions, and half-truths of two people with baggage who aren’t yet comfortable baring their whole souls. —Judy Berman, Time, 10 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English bagage, from Middle French, from bagues belongings, baggage

Noun (2)

probably modification of Middle French bagasse, from Old Occitan bagassa

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing baggage

• bag and baggage
• baggage claim
• hand baggage

Kids Definition

baggage

noun

bag·​gage

ˈbag-ij

: the traveling bags and personal belongings of a traveler : luggage