Bag Vocabulary in English: Every Type of Bag, from the Supermarket to the Flight

The basic word is bag, and it covers both a carrier bag and a handbag or backpack. To be precise, English adds the material or the job: plastic bag, paper bag and shopping bag. Plural: bags. At the checkout abroad you will mostly hear the question Do you need a bag?

Bag, pouch or sack: knowing what people mean

Many languages have separate words for a carrier bag and a handbag. In English both are bag, and context does the work. When you want to be precise, there are a few more words:

• pouch: a small bag or case with a zipper or drawstring, for a phone, cables or cosmetics.
• sack: a large sack, like a sack of potatoes. In the United States people also say paper sack for a big paper grocery bag.
• sachet: a small single-serving packet, such as sugar or hotel shampoo. In the United States it is more often called a packet.
• packet or bag: a bag of snacks. In the UK, a packet of crisps; in the United States, a bag of chips.

Every type of bag in English

At the checkout and the supermarket abroad: the phrases you need

In many countries you pay for a bag at the checkout, so the cashier asks before packing. These are the phrases that work:

A small travel tip: a folded cloth bag in your carry-on saves you this question at every purchase, and later works for fruit at the market and for dirty clothes too.

Bags at the airport and on the flight

There are a few bags every traveler meets along the way, and in English each one has its own name:

• liquids bag or clear plastic bag: the transparent bag for liquids that goes through security. We cover its rules, and the duty free bag's too, in the guide can you take bags on a plane.
• duty free bag or sealed bag: the sealed duty free bag with the receipt inside. On a connecting flight, don't open it until your destination.
• airsickness bag or sick bag: the bag in the seat pocket in front of you.
• laundry bag: a laundry bag, including the one waiting in the hotel room closet.
• shoe bag: a bag for shoes, keeps the clothes in the suitcase clean.
• compression bag or vacuum bag: a bag you remove the air from to save space in the suitcase.

The rest of the flight vocabulary, from check-in to a suitcase that didn't arrive, is in our airport luggage dictionary.

Plastic bag or toiletry bag?

Many people pack their toiletries in a plastic bag. That works, until the bag tears or a bottle opens on the way. The bag that replaces it is called a toiletry bag. In the UK people also say wash bag, and in the United States you sometimes hear dopp kit, a name that came from a brand of bag.

A toiletry bag made of water-resistant material protects the surrounding clothes if something spills, and a bag that separates a dry area from a wet one lets you pack a damp towel or swimsuit without soaking everything else. And if you are still organizing your suitcase, there are more ideas in the guide how to pack a suitcase, and you will find all the models on the toiletry bags page.

Bag as a verb, and the self-checkout

In English, bag is also a verb: to bag means to put something in a bag. At the checkout you may be asked Do you want me to bag it? And at self-service checkouts, which are very common in supermarkets abroad, you will meet a few fixed words:

• self-checkout: the self-service checkout.
• scan: pass the product over the scanner.
• bagging area: the surface where you place the bag with the products already scanned. At many checkouts it also weighs them, so an item placed there without scanning will stop the machine until a staff member comes to help.
• Do you have your own bag?: the question on the screen before you start. Answer Yes if you brought your own bag.

Bag idioms worth knowing

• It's in the bag: it's settled, guaranteed. The deal is in the bag.
• Let the cat out of the bag: to reveal a secret, usually by accident.
• A mixed bag: something with both good and less good parts. The reviews were a mixed bag.
• Not my bag: not my thing.
• Bag of tricks: all the methods someone has up their sleeve.