packs

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of pack.

   Wolves often hunt in coordinated packs across open terrain.

   The store stocks several packs of batteries near the register.

   Note

   A regular plural that is spelled exactly like the verb form in she packs, so position does the sorting. After a number, an article or an adjective, it is the noun. Most often it counts things that come in sets, such as packs of cards or packs of batteries. It also names groups gathered together. Used alone, it can still mean bundles carried on the back or loaded onto an animal.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of pack.

   The factory packs each shipment in recycled cardboard.

   She packs her camera gear carefully before every assignment.

   Note

   The present-tense verb with a singular subject works with or without an object. In she packs her gear it takes one. In he packs before dawn it needs none and means he makes up his bags. In wet snow packs it means the snow forms a compact mass. Its spelling is shared with the plural noun, and a singular subject in front of it marks it as the verb.

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