care package

American  

noun

1. Also CARE package. a package containing food, clothing, or other items sent as necessities to people in need of them.

2. a gift of treats to relatives or friends, especially of items not readily available to them.

   She sends monthly care packages of homemade cookies to her son at college.

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care package Idioms  

1. A gift package of food or other items not readily available to the recipient, as in While I was in college, Mom sent me a care package of homemade cookies just about every month. This term originated after World War II with CARE, an organization founded to send needed food, clothing, and other items to war-torn nations. By the 1960s the term had been transferred to sending packages of treats to children at camp, students away at school, and the like.

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Etymology

Origin of care package

First recorded in 1945–50; from the aid packages distributed by CARE

Example Sentences

When he arrived in Arizona, a care package awaited him at the local Wal-Mart.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

As part of a care package Bri put together for the teenage sister of the baby she helped, for example, she included colored pencils and a sketchbook.

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026

He has a social care package for three support workers to look after him during the day, but his family is fighting for an NHS continuing care funding package to cover overnight care.

From BBC • May 12, 2025

“These guys are asserting their humanity through trying to prepare food as best they can, through the care package system that’s available to them,” Kinmont said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2025

She needed a suitcase to ship the care package.

From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff