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# bag

«bag» in Mova's school dictionary: **a soft container you carry things in, made of paper…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (bag, bags); verb (bag, bags, bagged, bagging — to put in a bag; to grab; to criticise)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A bag is a soft container you carry things in, made of paper, plastic, cloth or leather. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#m1)

2) A bag is the amount a bag holds: a bag of sweets. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#m2)

3) To bag something is to put it in a bag, or to grab it for yourself: I bagged the front seat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#m3)

4) (casual) «Bags» (UK, Ireland, Australia) or «dibs» (US) claims something first: «Bags the window seat!» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#m4)

5) (casual) «Bags of» means lots of: bags of time. «Not my bag» means not what I like. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#m5)

6) (casual, Australia, NZ) To bag someone is to criticise them or make fun of them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#m6)

7) (rude) «Old bag» is a nasty name for an older woman; do not use it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#m7)

8) (formal) The exam voice says «receptacle», «container», «sack», «parcel». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#m8)

### sense in the lessons

a container; often one of several equal groups («3 bags, each has 4» = 3 × 4) or what a total is split into («equally into 3 bags» = divide); in everyday life school bag, shopping bag, lunch bag, sleeping bag, tea bag, schoolbag, «pack your bags»; in casual talk «bags I go first», «bags of time», «in the bag» (sure to happen); in safety never put a plastic bag over your head; in the exam voice «receptacles», «containers each containing»

### examples

- There are 3 bags. Each bag has 4 stamps. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x1)
- A box has 20 balloons and a bag has 19 balloons. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x2)
- Rita puts 18 sweets equally into 3 bags. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x3)
- Each bag holds 5 oranges. How many oranges are in 6 bags? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x4)
- Don't forget your school bag! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x5)
- We packed the groceries into bags. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x6)
- I bought a bag of chips for the trip. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x7)
- Plastic bags can hurt sea turtles, so we reuse them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x8)
- Bags the front seat! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x9)
- relax, we've got bags of time, bus is at 9 [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x10)
- We're 3 goals up, the game's in the bag. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x11)
- A total of 18 confectionery items is distributed equally among 3 receptacles; determine the contents of each receptacle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x12)
- These are magic bags which never grow empty. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/#x13)

### note

A container is not a clue by itself. Trap: «N bags, each has M» is multiply, «puts … equally into N bags» is divide, and «a box has … a bag has … how many fewer» is subtract. Count the things in the bags, not the bags, unless the question asks for bags. «bags of time» is a lot of time, not a number of bags; «in the bag» means sure to win. «Bags!» is a claim, like «dibs». «a receptacle» in an exam is just a container.

### In the corpora

- [Vivid example: in Melbourne, cousin Jess moves into her first rented flat with a bag of old plates from Gran.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/38-looking-after-yourself-and-a-home/3/)
- [Almost everything people make was designed by someone: chairs, signs, logos, books, phones, bags and clothes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/40-show-day-the-exhibition-the-concert-and-the-big-arts-quiz/16/)
- [A floating plastic bag looks like a jellyfish to a leatherback, which is one big reason to keep plastic out of the sea.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/31-turtles-and-tortoises/11/)
- [Sea turtles eat jellyfish, and floating plastic bags look like jellyfish, so turtles sometimes swallow plastic, which can block their stomachs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/133-finding-nemo-dory-turtles-and-the-reef/12/)
- [Detection dogs are trained to sniff out things such as drugs, explosives, fruit carried in bags, money and even some illnesses.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/140-paw-patrol-real-working-dogs/6/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «bag» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bag/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.