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noun ADJ. strong | heavy | canvas, leather, paper, plastic, polythene, string | carrier, shopping | bin, dustbin, rubbish | clutch, shoulder Her crocodile skin clutch bag matched her shoes. | drawstring, duffel | evening | overnight, weekend, travel/travelling | sponge, toilet, wash | changing a baby changing bag | school | beach, camera, golf, sports | kit (also kitbag) | medical | crisp | sandwich | body The dead soldiers were put on the plane in body bags. | sick (= a paper bag for a person to be sick into on a plane, boat, etc.) | doggie (= for taking uneaten food home from a restaurant) | goody (= a bag given as a gift with a variety of things in) We're giving away a free goody bag with every children's meal. | sleeping | pannier, saddle (also saddlebag) | money (figurative) He could not convince those who held the money bags that his idea was viable. | diplomatic (= an official government container that may not be opened by customs officials) | mail (also mailbag), post (also postbag) VERB + BAG open, unfasten, unzip | close, zip up | pack | empty, unpack | seal sth in The mushrooms are sealed in a bag for freshness. | cram/push sth in/into, put sth in/into, shove sth in/into, slip sth in/into, stuff/thrust sth in/into The camera caught him slipping a CD into his bag. | draw sth out of, produce sth from, pull/take sth from/out of | delve in/into, dive into, ferret (around) in, fumble in, reach into, rummage in, scrabble in I rummaged in my bag for a pen. | clutch, hold | carry, drag, haul, lug There was no lift so I had to lug my bags up the stairs. | heave, lift | shoulder He shouldered his bag and left. | drop, dump, put down | deposit, drop off, leave We dropped our bags off at the hotel and went straight out. | grab, snatch She grabbed her bag and ran out of the door. Two youths snatched her bag as she was walking home. | swing He was walking along swinging his school bag. | look in, search | gather They were gathering their bags, preparing to leave. BAG + VERB bulge (with sth) The bag bulged with papers and letters. | contain sth, hold sth | be crammed with sth, be (stuffed) full of sth PREP. in a/the ~, inside a/the ~ | ~ of a bag of groceries PHRASES the contents of a bag The customs officer asked him to empty out the contents of his bag. | sling your bag over your shoulder She stepped down off the bus with her bag slung over her shoulder.
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bag types a plastic/polythene/paper bag • Store the beans in a paper bag in the fridge. a carrier bag (= for carrying shopping, usually made of plastic ) • The supermarket no longer gives free carrier bags. a shopping bag • She loaded her shopping bags into the back of the car. a school bag • Hey, don't forget your school bag! a sports bag • I noticed that the man was wearing trainers and carrying a sports bag. a shoulder bag (= one that is carried over your shoulder ) • Big shoulder bags are fashionable this year. a leather/canvas bag • She was carrying a smart leather bag. a clutch bag (= a small woman's bag that you hold in one hand ) • For the evening all you need is a little clutch bag. an evening bag (= a small bag that a woman takes out with her in the evening ) • She put her lipstick in a black velvet evening bag. a beach bag (= to take to the beach ) • I bought a big striped beach bag. an overnight bag (= a small suitcase or bag for a short stay somewhere ) • All you need to take is an overnight bag. a travel bag (= a suitcase or bag taken with you when you travel ) • Your travel bag must not weigh more than 20 kilos. a sponge/toilet bag (= for carrying your soap, toothpaste, shampoo etc ) • I left my sponge bag in the hotel bathroom. a bin/dustbin bag British English • Use the black bin bags provided by the council. verbs a bag contains something • Lisa was carrying the bag containing the beach towels. a bag holds something • I don't think that bag will hold all those books.. open/close a bag • The customs officer opened my bag. empty a bag • I've emptied my bags and I still can't find it. pack a bag (= put things in it preparing to go somewhere ) • Mum packed a bag for a day at the beach. unpack a bag • She unpacked her bags and put her clothes away.