switchback: Meaning and Definition of

switch•back

Pronunciation: (swich'bak"), [key]
— n.
  1. a highway, as in a mountainous area, having many hairpin curves.
  2. a zigzag track arrangement for climbing a steep grade.
  3. See
—v.i.
  1. (of a road, railroad track, etc.) to progress through a series of hairpin curves; zigzag: The road switchbacks up the mountain.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.