piggybacking

piggybacking is the present participle and gerund of piggyback.

Noun

piggybacking (uncountable)

Riding on someone else's back.
- No piggybacking or other horseplay is allowed in the hallways.
- Throughout piggybacking's growth the railroads have demonstrated in all areas of the U.S. an ability to equal or exceed highway schedules.1960 November, David Morgan, “"Piggyback"—U.S. success story”, in Trains Illustrated, page 684
Transport involving vehicles arranged in an analogous way.
Inappropriately gaining entry into a restricted area, past a checkpoint, by tagging along behind another person who is authorized.
- The security team watches who comes through the door, and they will stop anyone who is seen piggybacking behind a badgeholder.
Synonyms:

tailgating
Joining in an activity that is initiated or led by someone else.
- Piggybacking on others' innovations seems to be his only plan for success.

piggyback (third-person singular simple present piggybacks, present participle piggybacking, simple past and past participle piggybacked)

(transitive) To carry (someone) on the back or shoulders.
(transitive) To ride on someone's back or shoulders.
(ambitransitive) To attach or append something to another (usually larger) object or event.
- They tried to piggyback that proposal on the rivers and harbors bill.
(Internet, transitive) To obtain a wireless internet connection by bringing one's own computer within the range of another's wireless connection without that subscriber's permission or knowledge.
(Internet, transitive) To utilize "last-mile" wiring rented from a larger owner ISP by a smaller ISP.
(transitive) To transport (a lorry/truck) on a flatbed railway wagon.
- American railroads are not permitted to operate long-haul road routes, but the I.C.C. decision of 1954 did permit them to solicit trailer business in, say, New York for Chicago provided the trailer was piggybacked in between.1960 November, David Morgan, “"Piggyback"—U.S. success story”, in Trains Illustrated, page 683

See piggyback.

What does piggybacking mean?: Piggybacking means riding on someone else's back.
What is piggybacking the present participle and gerund of?: Piggybacking is the present participle and gerund of piggyback.
What part of speech is piggybacking?: Piggybacking is a noun.

Adapted from Wiktionary: piggybacking (page history and authors); piggyback (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “piggybacking.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/piggybacking. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.