Link Centre Dictionary

carpetbagger

car·pet·bag·ger

UK/ˈkɑːpɪtˌbaɡə/ US/ˈkɑɹpɪtˌbæɡɚ/ uncommon us

noun

1.

an outsider who seeks power or success presumptuously

  • “after the Civil War the carpetbaggers from the north tried to take over the south”

Origin

From carpetbag + -er, because many carried their belongings in cheap luggage made from carpet fabric.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.