pack

¹ American  

[pak] / pæk /

noun

1. a group of things wrapped or tied together for easy handling or carrying; a bundle, especially one to be carried on the back of an animal or a person: a hiker's pack.

   a mule pack;

   a hiker's pack.

2. a definite quantity or standard measure of something wrapped up or otherwise assembled for merchandising (sometimes used in combination): a six-pack of beer.

   a pack of cigarettes;

   a six-pack of beer.

3. the quantity of something that is packaged, canned, or the like, at one time, in one season, etc..

   last year's salmon pack.

4. a group of people or things: a pack of lies.

   a pack of fools;

   a pack of lies.

   Synonyms:

   crew , company , band

5. a group of certain animals of the same kind, especially predatory ones.

   a pack of wolves.

6. Hunting.  a number of hounds, especially foxhounds and beagles, regularly used together in a hunt.

7. a complete set of playing cards, usually 52 in number; deck.

8. backpack.

9. a considerable area of pieces of floating ice driven or packed together.

10. Metalworking.  a pile of metal sheets for hot-rolling together.

11. Medicine/Medical.

    1. a wrapping of the body in wet or dry cloths for therapeutic purposes.

    2. the cloths so used.

    3. Obsolete.  the state of being so wrapped.

12. Mining.

    1. Also called pack wall.  a rubble wall for supporting a roof.

    2. any of various other roof supports of timber, timber and rubble, or rubble and wire mesh.

13. a cosmetic material, usually of a pastelike consistency, applied either to the face or to the hair and scalp: a beauty pack;

    a mud pack;

    a beauty pack;

    a henna pack.

14. pac.

15. Obsolete.  a plot; conspiracy.

16. Obsolete.  a low or worthless person.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to make into a pack or bundle.

2. to form into a group or compact mass.

3. to fill with anything compactly arranged.

   to pack a trunk.

4. to put into or arrange compactly in a trunk, valise, etc., as for traveling or storage.

   I packed a two-week supply of clothes for the trip.

5. to press or crowd together within; cram.

   The crowd packed the gallery.

6. to prepare for marketing by putting into containers or packages.

   to pack fruit for shipping.

7. to make airtight, vaportight, or watertight by stuffing.

   to pack the piston of a steam engine.

8. to cover or envelop with something pressed closely around.

9. to load, as with packs.

   We packed the mules and then set off for the lake.

10. to carry or wear, especially as part of one's usual equipment.

    to pack a gun.

11. Informal.  to deliver (a powerful blow, strong message, etc.).

    He packs a better punch than any heavyweight in years.

    His speech packed a powerful plea for peace.

12. to treat with a therapeutic pack.

verb (used without object)

1. to place goods into containers in compact form, as for transportation or storage (often followed byup ).

   I've packed up for the move, so I can't access my fabrics.

2. to place clothes and personal items in a suitcase, trunk, etc., preparatory to traveling.

   Make sure to pack lightly for this trip to Italy!

3. to be capable of or suitable for compact storage or packing for transportation.

   articles that pack well.

4. to crowd together, as persons.

   The audience packed into the auditorium.

5. to become compacted.

   Wet snow packs readily.

6. to collect into a group.

   The grouse began to pack.

7. to wear or carry a weapon, especially a gun.

   If she's arrested while she's packing, the sentence might be harsher.

8. to create a penile bulge in the crotch of one’s clothing using a prosthesis, padding, or other object of phallic shape, often done by gender-diverse people as part of their gender expression.

   I wasn't going to pack today, but I didn't feel as comfortable without it.

adjective

1. transporting, or used in transporting, a pack or load.

   pack animals.

2. compressed into a pack; packed.

3. used in or adapted for packing.

   pack equipment.

4. Chiefly Scot.  (of animals) tame.

verb phrase

1. pack off / away

   1. to dispatch.

      We packed the kids off to camp for the summer.

   2. to leave hastily.

2. pack in / up  to relinquish or give up; quit.

   One failure was no reason to pack the whole experiment in.

   After thirty years of touring, the violinist packed his career up and retired.

idioms

1. pack it in,

   1. to give up; abandon one's efforts.

      Ten years ago we packed it in and moved back to Florida.

   2. to cease being a nuisance.

pack ² American  

[pak] / pæk /

verb (used with object)

1. to choose, collect, arrange, or manipulate (cards, persons, facts, etc.) so as to serve one's own purposes.

   to pack the deck; to pack a jury.

---

pack ³ American  

[pak] / pæk /

adjective

1. Scot.  very friendly or intimate.

---

pack ¹ British  

/ pæk /

noun

1. 1. a bundle or load, esp one carried on the back

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pack animal

2. a collected amount of anything

3. a complete set of similar things, esp a set of 52 playing cards

4. a group of animals of the same kind, esp hunting animals

   a pack of hounds

5. any group or band that associates together, esp for criminal purposes

6. rugby the forwards of a team or both teams collectively, as in a scrum or in rucking

7. the basic organizational unit of Cub Scouts and Brownie Guides

8. 1. a small package, carton, or container, used to retail commodities, esp foodstuffs, cigarettes, etc

   2. ( in combination )

      pack-sealed

9. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): packet.  a small or medium-sized container of cardboard, paper, etc, often together with its contents

10. short for pack ice

11. the quantity of something, such as food, packaged for preservation

12. med

    1. a sheet or blanket, either damp or dry, for wrapping about the body, esp for its soothing effect

    2. a material such as cotton or gauze for temporarily filling a bodily cavity, esp to control bleeding

13. short for backpack rucksack

14. mining a roof support, esp one made of rubble

15. short for face pack

16. a parachute folded and ready for use

17. computing another name for deck

18. informal  to fall into a lower state or condition

---

verb

1. to place or arrange (articles) in (a container), such as clothes in a suitcase

2. (tr) to roll up into a bundle

3. to press tightly together; cram

   the audience packed into the foyer

   the hall was packed out

4. (tr; foll by in or into) to fit (many things, experiences, etc) into a limited space or time

   she packed a lot of theatre visits into her holiday

5. to form (snow, ice, etc) into a hard compact mass or (of snow, ice, etc) to become compacted

6. (tr) to press in or cover tightly

   to pack a hole with cement

7. (tr) to load (a horse, donkey, etc) with a burden

8. to send away or go away, esp hastily

9. (tr) to seal (a joint) by inserting a layer of compressible material between the faces

10. (tr) to fill (a bearing or gland) with grease to lubricate it

11. (tr) to separate (two adjoining components) so that they have a predetermined gap between them, by introducing shims, washers, plates, etc

12. (tr) med to treat with a pack

13. slang  (tr) to be capable of inflicting (a blow)

    he packs a mean punch

14. informal  (tr) to carry or wear habitually

    he packs a gun

15. rugby to form a scrum

16. (tr; often foll by into, to, etc) to carry (goods), esp on the back

    will you pack your camping equipment into the mountains?

17. informal  to get ready to leave

18. informal  to dismiss peremptorily

pack ² British  

/ pæk /

verb

1. (tr) to fill (a legislative body, committee, etc) with one's own supporters

   to pack a jury

---

pack More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing pack

• Joe six-pack
• send someone about his or her business (packing)

---

Related Words

See package. See flock ¹

Other Word Forms

• packable adjective

Etymology

Origin of pack¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English noun pak, packe, from Middle Dutch pac, or perhaps Middle Low German pak; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of pack²

First recorded in 1520–30; perhaps variant of pact

Origin of pack³

First recorded in 1780–90; perhaps special use of pack ¹

Example Sentences

My office belongings still packed up in my car, I drove to Canter’s Deli on Fairfax.

From Salon

Ninety-nine times out of 100, they would be told to pack a box and hit the bricks.

From The Wall Street Journal

But behind the scenes, artificial-intelligence researchers are pushing into new approaches that could pack an even bigger payoff.

From The Wall Street Journal

The trucking industry is packed with small carriers operating 10 or fewer trucks.

From Los Angeles Times

Aston Villa are probably in the best form out of the teams behind Arsenal in the chasing pack.

From BBC

Related Words

• band
• barrel
• bundle
• circle
• collection
• crew
• crowd
• flock
• gang
• herd
• horde
• lot
• mob
• pile
• swarm
• throng