switchback

1 of 2

noun

switch·​back ˈswich-ˌbak 

: a zigzag road, trail, or section of railroad tracks for climbing a steep hill

switchback adjective

switchback

2 of 2

verb

switchbacked; switchbacking; switchbacks

intransitive verb

: 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

Noun

This marvel of engineering shows off the profile of Washington (west of the main memorial entrance) and rock formations including the Needle’s Eye and Cathedral Spires, Black Hills overlooks, switchback climbs and pigtail bridges. —Lisa Meyers McClintick, USA Today, 21 June 2025

What stops someone from slicing across a switchback in South Colony Basin is not the same thing that keeps them from packing their poop out of Petrified Forest. —Sarah Scoles, JSTOR Daily, 11 June 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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1863, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1903, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for switchback

• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback

Kids Definition

switchback

noun

switch·​back

ˈswich-ˌbak

: a zigzag road, trail, or section of railroad tracks for climbing a steep hill