Bungee cord is made of one or more strands of an elastic material, usually rubber, bound together by a fabric covering. It is commonly used as a tie-down for luggage or equipment carried on the outside of a vehicle. Bungee cord is also used by the military to absorb the opening shock of the large cargo parachutes when dropping heavy loads such as tanks. The development of long, heavy-duty bungee cord for the military has led to the recreational sport of bungee jumping. In this sport, the participant jumps from an elevated structure while wearing a harness attached to one end of a long bungee cord with the other end attached to the structure.

The term "bungee" or "bungie" is thought to be British slang for india-rubber. Some references to the india-rubber originally used for erasing pencil marks on paper call it "india-bungie." Another source claims...