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.
"And if the response is we can't do that, then look, we might as well just pack up our bags and go to some island in the South Pacific and wait for the apocalypse."
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
In contrast, it would be difficult for Paramount to pack up its operations because it depends on producers, directors, writers and stars to make its TV shows and movies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
My need to pack up and leave was usually caused by souring relationships with roommates or increasing rents.
From MarketWatch ● May 29, 2026
“It’s great to have the circus come to town, but then they pack up and leave nothing behind,” said Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
That’s how long we’ve been given to pack up our lives, to leave our home.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
