n. a bag carried on the back, supported by straps looped over the shoulders.
Syn. -- knapsack; rucksack; haversack. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. i. to hike while carrying a backpack; -- often used in the form go backpacking; as, to backpack through the forest. [ PJC ]

n. one who backpacks; as, two backpackers were mauled by bears in Yellowstone this week. [ PJC ]

v. i. 1. pedal backwards, as on a bicycle. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. step backwards, in boxing. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. modify one' opinion, usually by making it less strong or adding qualifications. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } n. [ Back, n. or a. + piece, plate. ] 1. A piece, or plate which forms the back of anything, or which covers the back. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Specifically: A piece of plate armor protecting the back; -- it is worn as part of a cuirass. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Black + poll head. ] (Zool.) A warbler of the United States (Dendroica striata). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A label, placed upon or in a book, showing its ownership or its position in a library. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a quarry for mining chalk. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a place (as at a frontier) where travellers are stopped for inspection and clearance. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. A pit, or inclosed area, for cockfights. [ 1913 Webster ]

Henry the Eighth had built . . . a cockpit. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The Privy Council room at Westminster; -- so called because built on the site of the cockpit of Whitehall palace. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) (a) That part of a war vessel appropriated to the wounded during an engagement. (b) In yachts and other small vessels, a space lower than the rest of the deck, which affords easy access to the cabin. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. In airplanes or boats, the space where the pilot or operator sits to control the vehicle. In airplanes it is usually in the front of the fuselage. In larger airplanes it may be closed off from the cabin, where the passengers travel. [ PJC ]

n. a whimsically eccentric person.
Syn. -- crank, nut, nutcase, screwball. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Frank free + pledge. ] (O. Eng. Law) (a) A pledge or surety for the good behavior of freemen, -- each freeman who was a member of an ancient decennary, tithing, or friborg, in England, being a pledge for the good conduct of the others, for the preservation of the public peace; a free surety. (b) The tithing itself. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

The servants of the crown were not, as now, bound in frankpledge for each other. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Same as jack pot. See under jack. [ PJC ]

2. Any larger-than-usual gambling prize formed by the accumulation of unwon bets. [ PJC ]

3. The highest gambling prize awarded in a gambling game in which smaller prizes are also awarded, especially such a prize on a slot machine. [ PJC ]

4. An unusually large success in an enterprise, either unexpected or unpredictable, esp. one providing a great financial benefit. [ PJC ]

hit the jackpot to receive an unexpectedly large (or the largest possible) benefit from an enterprise; as, after prospecting for years, he finally hit the jackpot when he discovered a silver lode. [ PJC ]

n. A merry-andrew; a buffoon. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. having no leaks.
Syn. -- watertight. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A devourer or absorber of money. “Law is a lickpenny.” Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Gorget, 1 and 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Pickaback. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Pickpennies A miser; also, a sharper. Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who steals purses or other articles from pockets. Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who steals purses, or money from purses. Latimer. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A pointed steel punch, to prick a mark on metal. [ 1913 Webster ]

, n. same as shrink-wrap, n.. [ PJC ]

n. 1. An earthen jar charged with powder, grenades, and other materials of an offensive and suffocating smell, -- sometimes used in boarding an enemy's vessel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A vessel in which disinfectants are burned. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) The musk turtle, or musk tortoise. See under Musk. [ 1913 Webster ]