Meaning & use
stringbag
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableBritishold-fashioned
A light, open-weave bag made from knotted cord, folded small and used for carrying shopping.
Grammar: A normal countable noun: a stringbag, two stringbags.
Patterns
- a stringbag of something
My grandmother always kept a stringbag in her handbag in case she passed the market.
The oranges bulged through the holes of the stringbag.
He swung the stringbag over his shoulder and walked home from the greengrocer.
nouncountablemilitaryinformal
The affectionate nickname for the slow Fairey Swordfish biplane flown by the British navy in the Second World War.
Grammar: Used in history writing, often with the: the Stringbag.
The pilots called the Swordfish the Stringbag because it looked so frail and flimsy.
Despite its age, the stringbag helped cripple the German battleship Bismarck.
A museum visitor asked why the old stringbag had so many wires between its wings.
Word forms
| plural | stringbags |
|---|
Common combinations
- a stringbag full of
- She arrived with a stringbag full of apples.
- carry a stringbag
- Few people carry a stringbag now that plastic and cloth bags are common.
- fold up a stringbag
- You can fold up a stringbag to fit in a pocket.
- the old Stringbag
- Veterans still speak fondly of the old Stringbag.
Synonyms and how they differ
- string bag
- This is the same item written as two words, and is the more common spelling.
- net bag
- Net bag describes the open weave but may be nylon or modern, while a stringbag suggests cord and an older style.
- shopping bag
- Shopping bag is any bag for purchases, whereas stringbag names one specific type.
Word family
Commonly confused: stringbag or string bag?
stringbag vs string bag
Same meaning; the one-word form is simply a variant spelling and the second sense is mainly used for the aircraft.
Practice
Which sentence uses stringbag in its everyday sense?
Choose one answer.
A stringbag is a noun for a knotted-cord shopping bag, so it holds potatoes. The others use it as a verb or a person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stringbag”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.