pack up


verb(adverb)
  1. to put (things) away in a proper or suitable place

  2. informal to give up (an attempt) or stop doing (something): if you don't do your work better, you might as well pack up

  1. (intr) (of an engine, machine, etc) to fail to operate; break down

  2. engineering to use packing to adjust the height of a component or machine before it is secured in its correct position or alignment

Words Nearby pack up

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use pack up in a sentence

  • Dorothy cleared off the table, and went to her own room to pack up her clothes, and prepare for her journey.

    The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
  • In consequence of this resolution, and convinced that I should not sleep if I went to bed, I began to pack up my things.

    Camille (La Dame aux Camilias) | Alexandre Dumas, fils
  • I have already written to the school to tell them to pack up and send me all my books and clothes.

    Eric, or Little by Little | Frederic W. Farrar
  • Kurt, who was usually the first to pack up his papers, was still scribbling away after Mea had laid hers away.

    Maezli | Johanna Spyri
  • He sent directions to Mary to pack up at once and travel with the least possible delay to Este.