packed

1. 1
   adjectivecolloquial

   Filled completely with people, leaving little or no room to move.

   By kickoff the stadium was packed and the noise was deafening.

   Commuters squeezed into the packed subway car at every stop.

   Similarcrowded, full, jammed, mobbed, overcrowded

   Oppositeempty, deserted

   Note

   Here the crowd goes unsaid. The bus was packed needs no with-phrase, because people are understood, and that is what separates it from the general "full of" meaning, which names its contents. It sits most naturally after the verb, as in the Luzhniki was once again packed or the train was now packed. It belongs to everyday speech and lively reporting rather than formal description.

2. 2
   adjective

   Holding a great many things or a great deal of something.

   The report was packed with detailed statistics and charts.

   The mountain route offered a single day packed with stunning views.

   Similarfilled, loaded, full, stuffed, brimming

   Oppositeempty, devoid

   Note

   Its contents are usually introduced with with, and they can be almost anything: goodness, facts, or a day's events. Before a noun it often describes time, as in a packed schedule of thirteen inquiries. It also forms compounds. W. B. Maxwell's The Mirror and the Lamp (1918) calls an East End parish close-packed, with the density pressing in from walls and viaduct alike.

3. 3
   adjective

   Placed into a package or container for storage, sale, or shipping.

   Every packed carton was labeled before it left the warehouse.

   The plant ships thousands of packed meals to schools each day.

   Similarpackaged, boxed, wrapped

   Oppositeunpacked

   Note

   A packed box can mean two different things: one sealed up and ready to go, or one crammed to the brim, which is the "full of" meaning. Context usually settles it. The settled phrase packed lunch belongs here. It describes food made up and wrapped to be carried, not food in great quantity.

4. 4
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of pack.

   He packed the suitcase carefully before the early flight.

   The volunteers packed hundreds of boxes for the food drive.

   Note

   One regular -ed form does double duty: the simple past (they packed the van) and the participle behind perfects and passives (the van has been packed). Because pack also works without an object, it covers we packed and left, or snow that packed hard underfoot. When the participle can take more or most, as in a more packed room, it has crossed over into the crowded adjective.

Showing meanings only. Show all 4