# pack

Pronunciation: say "PAK" /pæk/

## Verb

1. To put things closely and securely into a bag, box, or other container, or make them into bundles, ready for storing or traveling.
   - Simple: To put things into a bag, box, or case so you can carry or store them.
   - _He packed the fragile glasses in layers of newspaper._
   - _Workers pack the crates tightly so the contents will not shift in transit._
2. To fill something closely or to overflowing, crowding contents tightly into the available space.
   - Simple: To fill something completely by crowding things tightly inside.
   - _Commuters packed the train until there was no room to move._
   - _Organizers pack the hall with extra chairs for the annual meeting._
4. To fit a large amount of something, such as features, power, or information, into a compact form or a brief span of time.
   - Simple: To fit a lot of something, like power or useful things, into something small or short.
   - _Modern phones pack an impressive range of features into a slim case._
   - _Her ten-minute talk packed in more useful information than most hour-long lectures._
9. To become compressed or settle together so as to form a dense, compact mass.
   - Simple: To press tightly together into a firm, solid mass.
   - _Damp grain tends to pack in the silo if it is not turned regularly._
   - _The sediment packed into dense layers over many centuries._
14. To carry a weapon, especially a firearm, on one's body. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To carry a gun or other weapon on your body.
   - _Plenty of ranchers pack a sidearm when riding far from town._
   - _She always packs a small revolver in her bag for protection._
15. To send someone away, often suddenly or firmly, sometimes with their belongings.
   - Simple: To send someone away, often suddenly or firmly, sometimes with their things.
   - _The principal packed the troublemaker off to a stricter school._
   - _Every fall they pack their daughter off to college._
18. To load (a pack animal) with goods or burdens for carrying.
   - Simple: To put a heavy load onto an animal such as a horse or mule.
   - _Drivers pack their mules with crates before crossing the pass._
   - _The guide packed the horses and set off at dawn._
19. To load down or burden (someone or something), used figuratively, as with cares or troubles.
   - Simple: To load someone down with worries or heavy demands.
20. To make something impervious by filling or surrounding it with suitable material, or by fitting it so that air, water, or steam cannot pass.
   - Simple: To seal something tightly so that air, water, or steam cannot get in or out.
   - _Engineers pack the pump shaft to keep fluid from leaking out._
   - _The mechanic packed the gland with greased fiber._
23. To block an opponent's shot forcefully, especially in basketball. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To block another player's shot, usually in basketball.
   - _If you drive into the lane against their center, he will pack your shot into the third row._
   - _The center packed the jump shot just before the buzzer._
24. To make up or fill (a group such as a committee, jury, or court) unfairly with chosen members so as to secure a particular result.
   - Simple: To unfairly fill a group with people chosen to give the result you want.
   - _The party tried to pack the electoral commission ahead of the count._
   - _Opponents claimed he had packed the jury with sympathizers._
25. To sort and arrange the cards in a deck dishonestly so as to gain an unfair advantage.
   - Simple: To secretly arrange the cards so that you will win.
   - _The gambler would pack the cards whenever the stakes rose._
   - _He was caught packing the deck during the final round._
28. Of animals, to gather and join up as a group that lives, moves, or hunts together, such as a flock, herd, or school.
   - Simple: To come together into a herd, flock, or school, the way animals do.
   - _Caribou pack into vast herds during the fall migration._
   - _Sardines packed into a dense ball to confuse the circling predators._

## Noun

3. A packet or package of things sold together as one unit, such as cigarettes, gum, or batteries.
   - Simple: A small box or packet of things sold together, like cigarettes or gum.
   - _She ordered a pack of printer paper for the office._
   - _The recipe calls for one pack of dried yeast._
5. A bundle made up and prepared to be carried, especially on the back, or a load for an animal.
   - Simple: A bundle of things tied up to be carried, often on your back.
   - _She adjusted the straps of her pack before the long climb._
   - _The traders strapped a heavy pack to each animal for the mountain crossing._
6. A group of similar or related people or things thought of together as one whole, especially the main body of competitors in a race or field.
   - Simple: A group of similar things or people gathered together.
   - _The leading cyclists pulled steadily away from the rest of the pack._
   - _She finished ahead of the pack in nearly every subject._
7. A group of wolves, dogs, or other animals that live or hunt together.
   - Simple: A group of wolves, dogs, or other animals that hunt or live together.
   - _A lone wolf rarely survives as long as one in a pack._
   - _The pack surrounded the wounded elk as dusk fell._
8. A pouch or pad filled with something cold, like ice or gel, or something warm, pressed against the body to ease pain or reduce swelling.
   - Simple: A bag or pad filled with something cold or warm that you hold on your body to ease pain or swelling.
   - _Hold the pack against the swollen knee for about fifteen minutes at a time._
   - _After straining her back, she switched between hot and cold packs every few hours._
11. A complete set of playing cards used for card games.
   - Simple: A full set of playing cards.
   - _She drew the top card from the pack and turned it over._
   - _Magicians often use a specially marked pack for their tricks._
12. A group of Cub Scouts organized as a single unit for meetings and activities.
   - Simple: A group of young Cub Scouts who meet and do activities together.
   - _The pack earned badges for camping and first aid this year._
   - _Two new boys joined the pack at the start of the term._
13. A large expanse of floating pieces of ice driven together more or less closely on the sea.
   - Simple: A wide stretch of floating pieces of ice pushed together at sea.
   - _The expedition was trapped when the pack closed around the hull._
   - _Polar bears travel for miles across the pack in search of seals._
17. A group of people banded together for a harmful or dishonest purpose; a gang.
   - Simple: A group of people joined together to do something bad.
   - _A pack of swindlers preyed on elderly residents for months._
   - _He ran with a pack of troublemakers in his teenage years._
21. The forwards in a rugby team (eight in Rugby Union, six in Rugby League) who, with the opposing forwards, make up the scrum.
   - Simple: In rugby, the team's forwards: the players who form the scrum.
   - _The home pack overwhelmed their opponents in the second half._
   - _Coaches rebuilt the pack around two powerful new props._
22. A cleansing or treating preparation of cream, paste, or clay, spread over the face or skin and left to work for a short while. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A cream or paste you leave on your face or skin for a short time to clean or care for it.
   - _Spread the pack evenly over clean skin, avoiding the eyes, and rinse it off after ten minutes._
   - _After a long week, she spread on a mud pack and relaxed while it dried on her skin._
29. In cue sports, a compact cluster of balls other than the cue ball, usually the reds in snooker.
   - Simple: In games like snooker, a tight bunch of balls close together.
   - _She opened the pack early to set up a long break._
   - _The cue ball nestled right behind the pack of reds._
10. A large number or multitude of things or people.
   - Simple: A large number of things or people.
   - _The report turned out to be nothing but a pack of half-truths._
   - _Her uncle dismissed the rumor as a pack of nonsense and refused to discuss it any further._

## Verb

16. To leave or depart hurriedly, usually with off or away. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To leave in a hurry.
26. To contrive or arrange (something) unfairly or fraudulently; to plot. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To plan or arrange something in a dishonest, unfair way.
27. To join together with others for morally wrong purposes; to act in cahoots. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To team up with others for a dishonest or wrong purpose.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A gathered group of the sandpipers known as knots.
- (noun) A bundled set of barrel staves, ready to be assembled into a cask.
- (noun) A stack of iron sheets passed through the rolling mill together.
- (noun) In hydropathy, a wrapping of sheets around a patient as a treatment, named by method, such as a cold or wet pack.
- (noun) A disreputable or immoral person, especially a promiscuous one.
- (noun) In roller derby, the biggest cluster of blockers, drawn from the two sides, kept close together on the track.
- (verb) In hydropathy, to swathe a patient in a damp or dry sheet beneath many layers of covering.
- (verb) To merge several telegraph messages into one sending so the charge is lower.
- (verb) To carry goods in bundles borne by porters or beasts of burden.
- (verb) Of a man, to be well endowed with a big penis.
- (verb) To wear padding or a prosthetic penis under clothing to create a male-looking crotch.
- (verb) Of rugby forwards, to work together as a tight unit, especially in scrummaging technique.

## Origin

**Meanings 3, 5–8, 10–13, 17, 21–22, 29** — From Middle English pak, from Old English *pæcca and/or Middle Dutch pak, both going back to Proto-Germanic *pakkô meaning 'bundle, pack'. It is related to Dutch pak, German Pack, and Swedish packe.
**Meanings 1–2, 4, 9, 14–16, 18–20, 23–28** — The Middle English verb pakken was made from the noun 'pack'. Middle Dutch and Middle Low German each had a matching verb, packen, also meaning 'to pack'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pack (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).