packet

[ pak-it ]

/ ˈpæk ɪt /

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noun

a small group or package of anything: a packet of letters.

Also called packet boat, packet ship . a small vessel that carries mail, passengers, and goods regularly on a fixed route, especially on rivers or along coasts.

Cards. a part of a pack of cards after being cut.

Informal. a large amount of money.

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.

British Slang.

a painful blow or beating.
misfortune or failure.

verb (used with object)

to bind up in a package or parcel.

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Origin of packet

First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French pacquet, equivalent to pacqu(er) pack¹ + -et -et

synonym study for packet

1. See package.

Words nearby packet

pack drill, packed, packed-cell volume, packed in like sardines, packer, packet, packet switched system, packet switching, packframe, packhorse, pack ice

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use packet in a sentence

By better organizing and scheduling the brand’s content packets, an editorial calendar can help everyone on the team streamline their efforts.
Advanced guide to creating an editorial calendar that boosts conversions|Catherrine Garcia|January 14, 2021|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.
Go camping in style and comfort with these gifts|Rob Verger|December 11, 2020|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.
Stealing to survive: More Americans are shoplifting food as aid runs out during the pandemic|Abha Bhattarai, Hannah Denham|December 10, 2020|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.
How to grow your own science experiment|Bethany Brookshire|December 9, 2020|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.
The Computer Scientist Who Shrinks Big Data|Allison Whitten|December 7, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Reading The Bone Clocks is like working your way through a packet of Starbursts at one go.
David Mitchell’s ‘The Bone Clocks’ Is Fun But Mostly Empty Calories|William O’Connor|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“A buyer can have a wrapped packet in his hand within three to 30 minutes,” she says.
As Iran’s Marijuana Trade Thrives, Is It Becoming a Nation of Stoners?|IranWire|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A single packet of Quaker Maple and Brown Sugar instant oatmeal, though, contains a full tablespoon of sugar.
Your Health Food’s Hidden Sugar Bomb|Michael Schulson|July 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There were rumors along Broadway in the following week that Rothstein had lost a packet.
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man|John Lardner|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His father was executed in 1942 by a German gendarme after attempting to smuggle a packet of saccharine into the Ghetto.
The Week in Death: Irving Milchberg, the Teenage Gunrunner of the Warsaw Ghetto|The Telegraph|March 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Besides a few crumbs, it contained a small lump of narwhal blubber and a little packet.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
This important rite was just completed, when a packet was put into Ripperda's hand from Spain.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Something influenced by his reasoning, Ripperda employed the greatest part of the day in writing a large packet for his son.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
He has a packet in his possession, that will inform Louis de Montemar of the fate of his father.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
A brown packet of caporal and a book of cigarette-papers—a cigarette rolled—how good it would be!
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for packet

packet

/ (ˈpækɪt) /

noun

a small or medium-sized container of cardboard, paper, etc, often together with its contentsa packet of biscuits Usual US and Canadian word: package, pack

a small package; parcel

Also called: packet boat a boat that transports mail, passengers, goods, etc, on a fixed short route

slang a large sum of moneyto cost a packet

computing a unit into which a larger piece of data is broken down for more efficient transmissionSee also packet switching

verb

(tr) to wrap up in a packet or as a packet

Word Origin for packet

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

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

packet

Origin of packet

synonym study for packet

Words nearby packet

Words related to packet

How to use packet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for packet

Word Origin for packet