camelback

plural camelbacks

1. uncountableThe backs of camels.

   We travelled across the desert on camelback.

2. countableA flexible water container worn on the back.

   An empty camelback is a blessing and a curse: it is easy to carry, but it means you have no water.

3. countableA house with a second storey that does not completely cover the ground floor.

   My friend lived in a camelback; we used to have fun climbing out of the window onto the roof below.

4. countablerail transportA railway locomotive that has its cab in the middle as opposed to at the end.

   The camelbacks were designed to help with the visibility problems inherent in putting the driver behind the entire engine.

5. countableA sofa or chair whose back has a raised middle part.

   He fell back relieved into his favourite camelback with a gin and tonic.

6. uncountableA type of rubber used in tyre restoration.

   We require four million tons of camelback each year.

   2 more examples

   The camelback rubber produced in this plant is shipped around the world.

   In 1942 almost 86,000,000 pounds of camelback—a 25-percent increase over 1941—were made available for recapping purposes, and the output of this product is continually increasing. Dealer establishments are as busy as beehives. They have about 90 percent of the recapping equipment. In the testimony before you yesterday one of the proponents of this bill admitted that independent dealers had 88 percent of all the recapping machinery there is in the United States. We estimate that it is probably about that figure, although we thought it was a little higher, probably 90 percent. In addition to recapping tires for the general public, they also are doing this work on Government-owned tires, including the military, with the result that the independent dealer has retreaded hundreds and hundreds of thousands of tires, at a substantial profit, during said period.

   1943 November 10, Lyle M. Buckingham, “Distribution of motor-vehicle tires. [Testimony.]”, in Hearings Before the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency, United States Government Printing Office, page 51

7. countableOne or more hump-shaped hills on a straight portion of rollercoaster track, designed to lift riders out of their seats and provide a feeling of weightlessness.
8. uncountablemediaSynonym of camel case

   Synonyms: camel case