switch·back
ˈswich-ˌbak 
: a zigzag road, trail, or section of railroad tracks for climbing a steep hill
switchback
adjective
switchbacked; switchbacking; switchbacks
: to follow a zigzag course especially for ascent or descent
a trail that switchbacks
Examples of switchback in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 20 Oct. 2025
In June, it was announced that the festival’s colorful founder, Jean-Pierre Blanc, would step down amid a saga that unspooled with as many twists and turns as the switchback road leading up to the villa.
—Vogue, 20 Oct. 2025
Eva Frederick, Travel + Leisure, 14 June 2025
Start at the peak’s eponymous trailhead and switchback straight up to the iconic summit.
—Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for switchback
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Within half a mile, my longtime friend Danny Sadleir and I were pushing our bikes up the rocky switchbacks leading away from the trail’s northern terminus at the Utah border to make our way south up Buckskin Mountain toward the Kaibab Plateau.
—Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 20 Oct. 2025
In June, it was announced that the festival’s colorful founder, Jean-Pierre Blanc, would step down amid a saga that unspooled with as many twists and turns as the switchback road leading up to the villa.
—Vogue, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
The first two miles are the hardest, composed of rocky stairs and switchbacks winding steeply up the side of the mountain.
—Eva Frederick, Travel + Leisure, 14 June 2025
Start at the peak’s eponymous trailhead and switchback straight up to the iconic summit.
—Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for switchback
Cite this Entry
“Switchback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/switchback. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share