Bag vs. Backpack — What's the Difference?

Bag is a general container for holding or carrying things.

Backpack is designed for hands-free carrying.

Bag can serve as a fashion accessory.

Backpack can be specialized, like hydration packs or camera bags.

Bag can be made from a variety of materials.

Backpack is ideal for transporting heavier loads over longer distances.

Bag can be designed for specific uses like shopping or storage.

A backpack—also called knapsack, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but it can have an external frame, internal frame, and there are bodypacks. Backpacks are commonly used by hikers and students, and are often preferred to handbags for carrying heavy loads or carrying any sort of equipment, because of the limited capacity to carry heavy weights for long periods of time in the hands.

A bag (also known regionally as a sack) is a common tool in the form of a non-rigid container. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being no more than lengths of animal skin, cotton, or woven plant fibers, folded up at the edges and secured in that shape with strings of the same material.Despite their simplicity, bags have been fundamental for the development of human civilization, as they allow people to easily collect loose materials such as berries or food grains, and to transport more items than could readily be carried in the hands.

A sturdy bag designed for carrying articles on a person's back, having shoulder straps and often mounted on a lightweight frame.

A container of flexible material, such as paper, plastic, or leather, that is used for carrying or storing items.

A piece of equipment, often containing life-support devices, designed to be used while being carried on the back

A handbag; a purse.

To hike or travel while carrying a backpack.

A piece of hand luggage, such as a suitcase or satchel.

To carry in a backpack.

A pouchlike or sagging organ or part of the body, such as a cow's udder.

A knapsack, sometimes mounted on a light frame, but always supported by straps, worn on a person’s back for the purpose of carrying things, especially when hiking, or on a student's back when carrying books.

An object that resembles a pouch.

A similarly placed item containing a parachute or other life-support equipment.

(Nautical) The sagging or bulging part of a sail.

(intransitive) To hike and camp overnight in backcountry with one's gear carried in a backpack.

The amount that a bag can hold.

(intransitive) To engage in low-cost, generally urban, travel with minimal luggage and frugal accommodation.

An amount of game taken or legally permitted to be taken.

To place or carry (an item or items) in a backpack.

(Baseball) A base.

A bag carried on the back, supported by straps looped over the shoulders.

(Slang) An area of interest or skill

To hike while carrying a backpack; - often used in the form go backpacking; as, to backpack through the forest.

(Slang) A woman considered ugly or unkempt.

A bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder

To put into a bag

Hike with a backpack;

To cause to bulge like a pouch.

Backpack is a bag carried on the back with two shoulder straps.

To capture or kill as game

Backpack often contains multiple compartments for organization.

To gain; acquire

To capture or arrest

To accomplish or achieve

To fail to attend purposely; skip

To stop doing or considering; abandon

To terminate the employment of.

To pack items in a bag.

To hang loosely

To swell out; bulge.

A soft container made out of cloth, paper, thin plastic, etc. and open at the top, used to hold food, commodities, and other goods.

A container made of leather, plastic, or other material, usually with a handle or handles, in which you carry personal items, or clothes or other things that you need for travelling. Includes shopping bags, schoolbags, suitcases, and handbags.

(colloquial) One's preference.

(derogatory) An ugly woman.

A fellow gay man.

(baseball) The cloth-covered pillow used for first, second, and third base.

(baseball) First, second, or third base.

(preceded by "the") A breathalyzer, so named because it formerly had a plastic bag over the end to measure a set amount of breath.

(mathematics) A collection of objects, disregarding order, but (unlike a set) in which elements may be repeated.

A sac in animal bodies, containing some fluid or other substance.

A pouch tied behind a man's head to hold the back-hair of a wig; a bag wig.

The quantity of game bagged in a hunt.

A scrotum.

(UK) A unit of measure of cement equal to 94 pounds.

A dark circle under the eye, caused by lack of sleep, drug addiction etc.

(slang) A small envelope that contains drugs, especially narcotics.

£1000, a grand.

(informal) A large number or amount.

(transitive) To put into a bag.

(transitive) To take with oneself, to assume into one's score

(informal) To catch or kill, especially when fishing or hunting.

To gain possession of something, or to make first claim on something.

(slang) To steal.

To take a woman away with one as a romantic or sexual interest.

(slang) To arrest.

(transitive) To furnish or load with a bag.

To provide with artificial ventilation via a bag valve mask (BVM) resuscitator.

To fit with a bag to collect urine.

To expose exterior shape or physical behaviour resembling that of a bag

To (cause to) swell or hang down like a full bag.

To hang like an empty bag.

To drop away from the correct course.

To become pregnant.

To forget, ignore, or get rid of.

To show particular puffy emotion

To swell with arrogance.

To laugh uncontrollably.

To criticise sarcastically.

A sack or pouch, used for holding anything; as, a bag of meal or of money.

A sac, or dependent gland, in animal bodies, containing some fluid or other substance; as, the bag of poison in the mouth of some serpents; the bag of a cow.

A sort of silken purse formerly tied about men's hair behind, by way of ornament.

The quantity of game bagged.

A certain quantity of a commodity, such as it is customary to carry to market in a sack; as, a bag of pepper or hops; a bag of coffee.

To put into a bag; as, to bag hops.

To seize, capture, or entrap; as, to bag an army; to bag game.

To furnish or load with a bag or with a well filled bag.

To swell or hang down like a full bag; as, the skin bags from containing morbid matter.

To swell with arrogance.

To become pregnant.

A flexible container with a single opening;

The quantity of game taken in a particular period (usually by one person);

Place that runner must touch before scoring;

A bag used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women);

The quantity that a bag will hold;

A portable rectangular traveling bag for carrying clothes;

An ugly or ill-tempered woman;

Mammary gland of bovids (cows and sheep and goats)

An activity that you like or at which you are superior;

Capture or kill, as in hunting;

Hang loosely, like an empty bag

Bulge out; form a bulge outward, or be so full as to appear to bulge

Take unlawfully

Put into a bag;

Bag can have various forms like handbags, pouches, or totes.

Generally, backpacks distribute weight more evenly across the shoulders, making them ergonomic for heavier loads.

Absolutely, many bags, especially handbags, are used as fashion accessories.

A bag is a general container for carrying items, while a backpack is specifically carried on the back using two straps.

No, bags can have handles, straps, drawstrings, or other means of holding or carrying.

Definitely, there are backpacks designed for hiking, camping, and other activities.

Yes, a backpack is a type of bag designed for back-carrying.

Yes, there are laptop bags and backpacks with padded compartments for device protection.

Consider your needs, the weight you'll carry, and the purpose (e.g., fashion vs. utility).

Bags can be made of various materials, including leather, canvas, polyester, and plastic.

Some bags are designed with gender in mind, like purses, but many are unisex.

Most do, but designs vary. Many have compartments for organization and specific items.

Yes, many travelers use backpacks as they're convenient for moving around and keeping hands free.

Backpacks distribute the weight of books and allow hands-free carrying, making them convenient for students.

It depends on the sport and the bag, but specialized bags might offer more functionality.

Yes, some bags come with detachable straps and can be converted into backpacks.