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
Teddy Brokaw, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 May 2024
Among a suite of new features, the electric G 580 can turn on a dime, take tight switchback corners with ease, and ford deeper water than its internal combustion engine counterparts.
—IEEE Spectrum, 13 May 2024
The mitigation proposed for the project is a beach access trail with either a switchback ramp or a concrete stairway over the bluffs and down to the beach between 7th and 8th streets.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2024
North of 64th, the trail becomes concrete and descends for about a mile before climbing a series of switchbacks to the top of a mesa just over five miles from the Easley Road trailhead.
—John Meyer, The Denver Post, 13 May 2024
Around the 1-mile mark, hikers will find a series of switchbacks.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2024
The switchbacks are torture: tons of little, sadistic hairpin turns.
—Leyton Cassidy, Longreads, 7 May 2024
The road up is winding, filled with switchbacks, hanging vines and vistas where, on mild nights, couples linger in cars against the backdrop of Honolulu’s city lights.
—Kristina Linnea Garcia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024
These switchbacks are thought to help generate the slow solar wind.
—Rebecca Boyle, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024
Salman Masood, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2023
Prepare to be blown away by Sardinia's west coast, where the road swerves around cliffs, wiggles across bridges, and switchbacks through towns and villages spilling down the cliffside.
—Julia Buckley, Travel + Leisure, 9 Aug. 2023
The serpentine road cuts back and forth up the mountain, each of its dozen or so switchbacks tight and steep.
—Michael Barry, WSJ, 25 May 2023
This is a land of chestnuts, almonds, olive oil and vineyards, as well as rocky outcrops and switchback roads.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 24 July 2022
Montoya, who lives along a dirt switchback 15 miles from here in Newcomb, N.M., began focusing on contact tracing in April.
—Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2020
Scientists have observed bursts of energetic particles never seen before on such a small scale, as well as switchback-like reversals in the out-flowing solar magnetic field that seem to whip up the solar wind.
—Fox News, 11 July 2020
Noun
Today, the route is one of Maui’s greatest tourist draws, with its 617 switchbacks hiding some of the island’s best attractions.
—Teddy Brokaw, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 May 2024
Among a suite of new features, the electric G 580 can turn on a dime, take tight switchback corners with ease, and ford deeper water than its internal combustion engine counterparts.
—IEEE Spectrum, 13 May 2024
The mitigation proposed for the project is a beach access trail with either a switchback ramp or a concrete stairway over the bluffs and down to the beach between 7th and 8th streets.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2024
North of 64th, the trail becomes concrete and descends for about a mile before climbing a series of switchbacks to the top of a mesa just over five miles from the Easley Road trailhead.
—John Meyer, The Denver Post, 13 May 2024
Around the 1-mile mark, hikers will find a series of switchbacks.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2024
The switchbacks are torture: tons of little, sadistic hairpin turns.
—Leyton Cassidy, Longreads, 7 May 2024
The road up is winding, filled with switchbacks, hanging vines and vistas where, on mild nights, couples linger in cars against the backdrop of Honolulu’s city lights.
—Kristina Linnea Garcia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024
These switchbacks are thought to help generate the slow solar wind.
—Rebecca Boyle, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
Cable cars have become relatively regular modes of transport for residents of the mountainous northern region of Pakistan, where journeys along switchback roads climbing steep slopes or descending into deep valleys can take hours to cover just a few miles as the crow flies.
—Salman Masood, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2023
Prepare to be blown away by Sardinia's west coast, where the road swerves around cliffs, wiggles across bridges, and switchbacks through towns and villages spilling down the cliffside.
—Julia Buckley, Travel + Leisure, 9 Aug. 2023
The serpentine road cuts back and forth up the mountain, each of its dozen or so switchbacks tight and steep.
—Michael Barry, WSJ, 25 May 2023
This is a land of chestnuts, almonds, olive oil and vineyards, as well as rocky outcrops and switchback roads.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 24 July 2022
Montoya, who lives along a dirt switchback 15 miles from here in Newcomb, N.M., began focusing on contact tracing in April.
—Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2020
Scientists have observed bursts of energetic particles never seen before on such a small scale, as well as switchback-like reversals in the out-flowing solar magnetic field that seem to whip up the solar wind.
—Fox News, 11 July 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'switchback.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near switchback
Cite this Entry
“Switchback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/switchback. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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