parcel
Americannoun
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an object, article, container, or quantity of something wrapped or packed up; small package; bundle.
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a quantity or unit of something, as of a commodity for sale; lot.
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a group, collection, or assemblage of persons or things.
- Synonyms:
- assortment, batch
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a distinct, continuous portion or tract of land.
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a part, portion, or fragment.
verb (used with object)
adverb
noun
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something wrapped up; package
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a group of people or things having some common characteristic
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a quantity of some commodity offered for sale; lot
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a distinct portion of land
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an essential part of something (esp in the phrase part and parcel )
verb
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(often foll by up) to make a parcel of; wrap up
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(often foll by out) to divide (up) into portions
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nautical to bind strips of canvas around (a rope)
adverb
Related Words
See package.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of parcel
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French parcelle, from unattested Late Latin particella, fresh formation for Latin particula; see particle, passel
Explanation
A parcel is a part of something, or a division. It can also be a package or a collection of things wrapped together. Parcel comes from the Anglo-Norman word for "part." Often when we use parcel to mean a part, we're talking about land, which is divided into definable (and purchasable) tracts. As a verb, parcel means to divide something into parts, just as after trick-or-treating you might parcel your candy stash into piles of chocolates, peppermints, or toffees. If you're selling the family farm, you might parcel it into four small plots.
Vocabulary lists containing parcel
"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
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Revolution in Our Time
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was previously a reporter in the Journal’s corporate bureau, where he wrote about large parcel shipping companies like FedEx and United Parcel Service and freight railroads like Union Pacific and CSX.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
Shares of United Parcel Service slumped in early Tuesday trading after the package-delivery giant beat first-quarter earnings expectations but left its full-year guidance unchanged.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026
Even peers like United Parcel Service, which reports earnings next week, are firming.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
United Parcel Service and FedEx ticked down 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
The eagerly awaited food promised for Parcel Day arrives spoiled and defiled by rodents.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
