Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Nearby Words

carpetbagger

 - 2 dictionary results
$100 Off at Carpet One®
Free In-Home Measure! Love Your Carpet Or We’ll Replace It For Free
www.CarpetOne.com/Promotion

car⋅pet⋅bag⋅ger

  [kahr-pit-bag-er]
Use carpetbagger in a Sentence
–noun
1. U.S. History. a Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War and became active in Republican politics, esp. so as to profiteer from the unsettled social and political conditions of the area during Reconstruction.
2. any opportunistic or exploitive outsider: Our bus company has served this town for years, but now the new one run by carpetbaggers from the city is stealing our business.
Origin:
1865–70, Americanism; carpetbag + -er 1 ; so called because they came South carrying their belongings in carpetbags

Related forms:
car⋅pet⋅bag⋅ger⋅y, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To carpetbagger
$100 Off at Carpet One®
Free In-Home Measure! Love Your Carpet Or We’ll Replace It For Free
www.CarpetOne.com/Promotion
car·pet·bag·ger   (kär'pĭt-bāg'ər)   
n.  

  1. A Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War for political or financial advantage.

  2. An outsider, especially a politician, who presumptuously seeks a position or success in a new locality.


[So called because they carried their belongings in carpetbags.]
car'pet·bag'ger·y n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see carpetbagger on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way