pack up
Britishverb
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to put (things) away in a proper or suitable place
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informal to give up (an attempt) or stop doing (something)
if you don't do your work better, you might as well pack up
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(intr) (of an engine, machine, etc) to fail to operate; break down
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engineering to use packing to adjust the height of a component or machine before it is secured in its correct position or alignment
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.
My need to pack up and leave was usually caused by souring relationships with roommates or increasing rents.
From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026
After taking their concerns to superiors, they gave up — it was not their job to make decisions like when to pack up their hoses and leave a fire that had mostly been put out.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
“We can teach museums how to safely pack up their artworks,” Freland said, “but it’s more difficult when it’s entire buildings.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Purchases are often limited to two per person, probably for the best given a single cookie can pack up to 500 calories.
From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026
“Jakob said that Willa came here. She said she just wanted to see him. Told him that she had been assigned to pack up the embassy in Warsaw.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
