carpetbagger
(pejorative, by extension) One who comes to a place or organisation with which they have no previous connection with the sole or primary aim of personal gain, especially political or financial gain.
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And the host of Tory carpetbagger MPs who seek their fortune in Reform UK or as columnists and commentators in pro-Establishment media.
Billionaire carpetbagger. Honestly, about as Republican as it gets.
NY Times endorses carpetbagger billionaire for Ohio Governor via "Entrepreneur vs Covid Czar" headline. All the garbage that fits in print.
Definitions
(pejorative, by extension) One who comes to a place or organisation with which they have no previous connection with the sole or primary aim of personal gain, especially political or financial gain.
Comments
(politics, history, chiefly, US, offensive) A migrant from the Northern to the Southern States after the American Civil War of 1861–5, especially one who went South to gain political influence.
The carpetbagger remains one of the most enduring symbols of the Reconstruction era. Technically, a carpetbagger was simply a northerner who went South in the wake of the Civil War and took part in Republican Party politics. For most of …
“And the host of Tory carpetbagger MPs who seek their fortune in Reform UK or as columnists and commentators in pro-Establishment media.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Billionaire carpetbagger. Honestly, about as Republican as it gets.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“NY Times endorses carpetbagger billionaire for Ohio Governor via "Entrepreneur vs Covid Czar" headline. All the garbage that fits in print.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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Other words near "carpetbagger" (C)
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Semantically related
- carpetbag87%
(chiefly, US) To come to a place or organisation with which one has no previous connection with the sole or primary aim of personal gain, especially political or financial gain.
- carpetbag69%
(chiefly, US) Having the characteristics of carpetbaggers.
- carpetbag61%
A traveling bag made from scraps of carpet and widely used in the United States (and elsewhere) in the 19th century.
- carry-go-bring-come55%
(Caribbean) A gossip or talebearer.