switchback

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   chiefly British, dated: a roller coaster or amusement ride with steep rises and descents

   The sudden plunge felt like the first drop on a switchback.

2. 2
   noun

   a railway arrangement on a steep slope in which a train reverses direction at successive switches

   The mountain railway climbed by means of a switchback cut into the slope.

3. 3
   noun

   a road, path, or course with a succession of sharp bends, steep climbs, and descents

   The narrow switchback carried the road up the mountainside.

From switch + back. The railway sense refers to switching a train onto another track so that it proceeds back in the opposite direction; the amusement-ride and winding-course senses developed from that repeated reversal.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary