switch·back
ˈswich-ˌbak 
: a zigzag road, trail, or section of railroad tracks for climbing a steep hill
switchback
adjective
switchbacked; switchbacking; switchbacks
: to follow a zigzag course especially for ascent or descent
a trail that switchbacks
Examples of switchback in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sarah Scoles, JSTOR Daily, 11 June 2025
Turn right on Burr Trail Road, which will take you up steep switchbacks that crest the Waterpocket Fold.
—Maya Silver, Outside Online, 2 May 2025
Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 1 Apr. 2025
In the middle of the Redwall switchbacks her skin went purple and her arms went limp.
—Outside Online, 23 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for switchback
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Noun
What stops someone from slicing across a switchback in South Colony Basin is not the same thing that keeps them from packing their poop out of Petrified Forest.
—Sarah Scoles, JSTOR Daily, 11 June 2025
Turn right on Burr Trail Road, which will take you up steep switchbacks that crest the Waterpocket Fold.
—Maya Silver, Outside Online, 2 May 2025
Verb
Start at the peak’s eponymous trailhead and switchback straight up to the iconic summit.
—Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 1 Apr. 2025
In the middle of the Redwall switchbacks her skin went purple and her arms went limp.
—Outside Online, 23 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for switchback
Cite this Entry
“Switchback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/switchback. Accessed 26 Jun. 2025.
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