packet

[ pak-it ]

noun

1. a small group or package of anything:

   a packet of letters.

2. Also called packet boat,. a small vessel that carries mail, passengers, and goods regularly on a fixed route, especially on rivers or along coasts.
3. Cards. a part of a pack of cards after being cut.
4. Informal. a large amount of money.
5. Computers. a relatively small unit of data sent over a network:

   Every email you send and web page you browse is transferred to and from your device in a series of packets.

6. British Slang.
   1. a painful blow or beating.
   2. misfortune or failure.

verb (used with object)

1. to bind up in a package or parcel.

packet

/ ˈpækɪt /

noun

1. a small or medium-sized container of cardboard, paper, etc, often together with its contents Usual US and Canadian wordpackagepack

   a packet of biscuits

2. a small package; parcel
3. Also calledpacket boat a boat that transports mail, passengers, goods, etc, on a fixed short route
4. slang.
   a large sum of money

   to cost a packet

5. See packet switching
   computing a unit into which a larger piece of data is broken down for more efficient transmission See also packet switching

verb

1. tr to wrap up in a packet or as a packet

Word History and Origins

Origin of packet¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French pacquet, equivalent to pacqu(er) pack ¹none + -et -et none

Word History and Origins

Origin of packet¹

C16: from Old French pacquet, from pacquer to pack, from Old Dutch pak a pack

Synonym Study

See package none.

Example Sentences

By better organizing and scheduling the brand’s content packets, an editorial calendar can help everyone on the team streamline their efforts.

From Search Engine Watch

You don’t need an extra pour-over funnel, and when you’re done, you just toss the packet into the trash.

From Popular-Science

She said she’d take things like ground beef, rice or potatoes but always pay for something small, like a packet of M&M’s.

From Washington Post

I gave the other 12 pots and the other packet of seeds — along with some fertilizer and soil — to my editor, Sarah Zielinski.

From Science News For Students

Imagine that you’re seeing a stream of packets, and what you want is to count the number of distinct IP addresses that are sending traffic on this link.

From Quanta Magazine

Reading The Bone Clocks is like working your way through a packet of Starbursts at one go.

From The Daily Beast

“A buyer can have a wrapped packet in his hand within three to 30 minutes,” she says.

From The Daily Beast

A single packet of Quaker Maple and Brown Sugar instant oatmeal, though, contains a full tablespoon of sugar.

From The Daily Beast

There were rumors along Broadway in the following week that Rothstein had lost a packet.

From The Daily Beast

His father was executed in 1942 by a German gendarme after attempting to smuggle a packet of saccharine into the Ghetto.

From The Daily Beast

Besides a few crumbs, it contained a small lump of narwhal blubber and a little packet.

From Project Gutenberg

This important rite was just completed, when a packet was put into Ripperda's hand from Spain.

From Project Gutenberg

Something influenced by his reasoning, Ripperda employed the greatest part of the day in writing a large packet for his son.

From Project Gutenberg

He has a packet in his possession, that will inform Louis de Montemar of the fate of his father.

From Project Gutenberg

A brown packet of caporal and a book of cigarette-papers—a cigarette rolled—how good it would be!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bag
• carton
• container
• envelope
• folder
• package
• parcel
• wrapper