Bag vs. Case — What's the Difference?

A soft container used to carry items.

A cover or enclosure for a device.

An accessory for personal items.

A rigid container designed to hold and protect its contents.

A piece of luggage.

An instance or occurrence of a particular type or category.

A term used in various sports.

A situation requiring investigation.

A metaphorical term indicating a particular interest.

A legal action or suit.

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.

An instance of a particular situation; an example of something occurring

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

An instance of a disease, injury, or problem

A handbag; a purse.

A legal action, especially one to be decided in a court of law

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

Any of the forms of a noun, adjective, or pronoun that express the semantic relation of the word to other words in the sentence

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

A container designed to hold or protect something

An object that resembles a pouch.

Each of the two forms, capital or minuscule, in which a letter of the alphabet may be written or printed.

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

Surround in a material or substance

The amount that a bag can hold.

Reconnoitre (a place) before carrying out a robbery

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

An instance or occurrence of a particular kind or category

(Baseball) A base.

An occurrence of a disease or disorder

(Slang) An area of interest or skill

A set of circumstances or a state of affairs; a situation

(Slang) A woman considered ugly or unkempt.

Actual fact; reality

To put into a bag

A question or problem; a matter

To cause to bulge like a pouch.

A situation that requires investigation, especially by a formal or official body.

To capture or kill as game

An action or a suit or just grounds for an action.

To gain; acquire

The facts or evidence offered in support of a claim.

To capture or arrest

A set of reasons or supporting facts; an argument

To accomplish or achieve

A person being assisted, treated, or studied, as by a physician, lawyer, or social worker.

To fail to attend purposely; skip

(Informal) A peculiar or eccentric person; a character.

To stop doing or considering; abandon

In traditional grammar, a distinct form of a noun, pronoun, or modifier that is used to express one or more particular syntactic relationships to other words in a sentence.

To terminate the employment of.

Case In some varieties of generative grammar, the thematic or semantic role of a noun phrase as represented abstractly but not necessarily indicated overtly in surface structure. In such frameworks, nouns in English have Case even in the absence of inflectional case endings.

To pack items in a bag.

A container; a receptacle

To hang loosely

A container with its contents.

To swell out; bulge.

A decorative or protective covering or cover.

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 set or pair

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.

The frame or framework of a window, door, or stairway.

(colloquial) One's preference.

The surface or outer layer of a metal alloy.

(derogatory) An ugly woman.

A shallow compartmented tray for storing type or type matrices.

A fellow gay man.

The form of a written, printed, or keyed letter that distinguishes it as being lowercase or uppercase

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

To put into or cover with a case; encase.

(baseball) First, second, or third base.

(Slang) To examine carefully, as in planning a crime

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

An actual event, situation, or fact.

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

A given condition or state.

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

A piece of work, specifically defined within a profession.

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

(academia) An instance or event as a topic of study.

The quantity of game bagged in a hunt.

(legal) A legal proceeding, lawsuit.

A scrotum.

(grammar) A specific inflection of a word (particularly a noun, pronoun, or adjective) depending on its function in the sentence.

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

Grammatical cases and their meanings taken either as a topic in general or within a specific language.

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

(medicine) An instance of a specific condition or set of symptoms.

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

(programming) A section of code representing one of the actions of a conditional switch.

£1000, a grand.

A box that contains or can contain a number of identical items of manufacture.

(informal) A large number or amount.

A box, sheath, or covering generally.

(transitive) To put into a bag.

A piece of luggage that can be used to transport an apparatus such as a sewing machine.

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

An enclosing frame or casing.

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

A suitcase.

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

A piece of furniture, constructed partially of transparent glass or plastic, within which items can be displayed.

(slang) To steal.

The outer covering or framework of a piece of apparatus such as a computer.

(slang) To arrest.

A shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type, traditionally arranged in sets of two, the "upper case" (containing capitals, small capitals, accented) and "lower case" (small letters, figures, punctuation marks, quadrats, and spaces).

(transitive) To furnish or load with a bag.

The nature of a piece of alphabetic type, whether a “capital” (upper case) or “small” (lower case) letter.

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

(poker slang) Four of a kind.

To fit with a bag to collect urine.

(US) A unit of liquid measure used to measure sales in the beverage industry, equivalent to 192 fluid ounces.

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

(mining) A small fissure which admits water into the workings.

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

A thin layer of harder metal on the surface of an object whose deeper metal is allowed to remain soft.

To hang like an empty bag.

A cardboard box that holds (usually 24) beer bottles or cans.

To drop away from the correct course.

A counterfeit crown five-shilling coin.

To become pregnant.

(obsolete) to propose hypothetical cases

To forget, ignore, or get rid of.

(transitive) To place (an item or items of manufacture) into a box, as in preparation for shipment.

To show particular puffy emotion

(transitive) To cover or protect with, or as if with, a case; to enclose.

To swell with arrogance.

To survey (a building or other location) surreptitiously, as in preparation for a robbery.

To laugh uncontrollably.

(poker slang) The last remaining card of a particular rank.

To criticise sarcastically.

A box, sheath, or covering; as, a case for holding goods; a case for spectacles; the case of a watch; the case (capsule) of a cartridge; a case (cover) for a book.

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

A box and its contents; the quantity contained in a box; as, a case of goods; a case of instruments.

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 shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type.

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

An inclosing frame; a casing; as, a door case; a window case.

The quantity of game bagged.

A small fissure which admits water to the workings.

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.

Chance; accident; hap; opportunity.

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

That which befalls, comes, or happens; an event; an instance; a circumstance, or all the circumstances; condition; state of things; affair; as, a strange case; a case of injustice; the case of the Indian tribes.

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

A patient under treatment; an instance of sickness or injury; as, ten cases of fever; also, the history of a disease or injury.

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

The matters of fact or conditions involved in a suit, as distinguished from the questions of law; a suit or action at law; a cause.

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

One of the forms, or the inflections or changes of form, of a noun, pronoun, or adjective, which indicate its relation to other words, and in the aggregate constitute its declension; the relation which a noun or pronoun sustains to some other word.

To swell with arrogance.

To cover or protect with, or as with, a case; to inclose.

To become pregnant.

To strip the skin from; as, to case a box.

A flexible container with a single opening;

To propose hypothetical cases.

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

A comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy;

Place that runner must touch before scoring;

An occurrence of something;

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

A special set of circumstances;

The quantity that a bag will hold;

A problem requiring investigation;

A portable rectangular traveling bag for carrying clothes;

The actual state of things;

An ugly or ill-tempered woman;

A statement of facts and reasons used to support an argument;

Mammary gland of bovids (cows and sheep and goats)

A portable container for carrying several objects;

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

A person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation;

Capture or kill, as in hunting;

A person requiring professional services;

Hang loosely, like an empty bag

The quantity contained in a case

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

A glass container used to store and display items in a shop or museum or home

Take unlawfully

A specific state of mind that is temporary;

Put into a bag;

Nouns or pronouns or adjectives (often marked by inflection) related in some way to other words in a sentence

The housing or outer covering of something;

A person of a specified kind (usually with many eccentricities);

An enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part

The enclosing frame around a door or window opening;

Bed linen consisting of a cover for a pillow;

Look over, usually with the intention to rob;

Enclose in, or as if in, a case;

Cases might be less comfortable to carry over distances without wheels due to their rigid structure and potentially heavier weight.

Some bags are designed with padding to offer protection, but typically cases offer superior protection due to their rigid structure.

Yes, both can be used for travel; bags for personal belongings and cases for items needing protection like cameras or laptops.

A bag is usually soft and flexible, ideal for carrying a variety of items, while a case is hard and protective, designed for specific contents.

In broad terms, a case can be a type of bag designed for specific protective purposes, but they are generally considered separate due to their distinct characteristics.

Both come in various sizes, but cases often have more standardized sizes to fit specific items like musical instruments or electronics.

Consider the items you're carrying, the level of protection needed, and portability requirements.

Items that do not require rigid protection and are more variable in size are better suited to bags.

Musical instruments require protection from damage, making the rigid structure of cases more suitable.

Professionals who need to protect valuable equipment often prefer cases for their durability and protection.

Both bags and cases can be waterproof, but waterproof cases offer better protection against submersion.

Yes, cases can be customized with specific compartments and padding to fit particular items securely.

Cases, especially those designed for specific items, can be more expensive than bags due to their specialized construction.

Locks on bags are less common, as bags are typically designed for quick and easy access.

Yes, smaller bags can be used within larger cases for additional organization and easy access to various items.