pack Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a large indefinite number
    plurality; battalion; multitude; large number.
    • a battalion of ants
    • a multitude of TV antennas
    • a plurality of religions
  2. noun a complete collection of similar things
  3. noun a convenient package or parcel (as of cigarettes or film)
  4. noun an association of criminals
    mob; ring; gang.
    • police tried to break up the gang
    • a pack of thieves
  5. noun an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    coterie; inner circle; camp; ingroup; clique.
  6. noun a group of hunting animals
  7. noun a cream that cleanses and tones the skin
    face pack.
  8. noun a sheet or blanket (either dry or wet) to wrap around the body for its therapeutic effect
  9. noun a bundle (especially one carried on the back)
  10. verb arrange in a container
    • pack the books into the boxes
  11. verb fill to capacity
    • This singer always packs the concert halls
    • The murder trial packed the court house
  12. verb compress into a wad
    compact; wad; bundle.
    • wad paper into the box
  13. verb carry, as on one's back
    • Pack your tents to the top of the mountain
  14. verb set up a committee or legislative body with one's own supporters so as to influence the outcome
    • pack a jury
  15. verb have with oneself; have on one's person
    carry; take.
    • She always takes an umbrella
    • I always carry money
    • She packs a gun when she goes into the mountains
  16. verb press tightly together or cram
    mob; throng; jam; pile.
    • The crowd packed the auditorium
  17. verb hike with a backpack
    backpack.
    • Every summer they are backpacking in the Rockies
  18. verb press down tightly
    tamp down; tamp.
    • tamp the coffee grinds in the container to make espresso
  19. verb seal with packing
    • pack the faucet
  20. verb have the property of being packable or of compacting easily
    compact.
    • This powder compacts easily
    • Such odd-shaped items do not pack well
  21. verb load with a pack
    load down.
  22. verb treat the body or any part of it by wrapping it, as with blankets or sheets, and applying compresses to it, or stuffing it to provide cover, containment, or therapy, or to absorb blood
    • The nurse packed gauze in the wound
    • You had better pack your swollen ankle with ice

WordNet

Pack transitive verb
Etymology
Akin to D. pakken, G. packen, Dan. pakke, Sw. packa, Icel. pakka. See Pack, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Packed ; present participle & verbal noun Packing
Definitions
  1. To make a pack of; to arrange closely and securely in a pack; hence, to place and arrange compactly as in a pack; to press into close order or narrow compass; as to pack goods in a box; to pack fish.
    Strange materials packed up with wonderful art. Addison.
    Where . . . the bones Of all my buried ancestors are packed. Shak.
  2. To fill in the manner of a pack, that is, compactly and securely, as for transportation; hence, to fill closely or to repletion; to stow away within; to cause to be full; to crowd into; as, to pack a trunk; the play, or the audience, packs the theater.
  3. To sort and arrange (the cards) in a pack so as to secure the game unfairly.
    And mighty dukes pack cards for half a crown. Pope.
  4. Hence: To bring together or make up unfairly and fraudulently, in order to secure a certain result; as, to pack a jury or a causes.
    The expected council was dwindling into . . . a packed assembly of Italian bishops. Atterbury.
  5. To contrive unfairly or fraudulently; to plot. Obs.
    He lost life . . . upon a nice point subtilely devised and packed by his enemies. Fuller.
  6. To load with a pack; hence, to load; to encumber; as, to pack a horse.
    Our thighs packed with wax, our mouths with honey. Shack.
  7. To cause to go; to send away with baggage or belongings; esp., to send away peremptorily or suddenly; -- sometimes with off; as, to pack a boy off to school.
    He . . . must not die Till George be packed with post horse up to heaven. Shak.
  8. To transport in a pack, or in the manner of a pack (i. e., on the backs of men or beasts). Western U.S.
  9. (Hydropathy) To envelop in a wet or dry sheet, within numerous coverings. See Pack, n., 5.
  10. (Mech.) To render impervious, as by filling or surrounding with suitable material, or to fit or adjust so as to move without giving passage to air, water, or steam; as, to pack a joint; to pack the piston of a steam engine.
Pack intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To make up packs, bales, or bundles; to stow articles securely for transportation.
  2. To admit of stowage, or of making up for transportation or storage; to become compressed or to settle together, so as to form a compact mass; as, the goods pack conveniently; wet snow packs well.
  3. To gather in flocks or schools; as, the grouse or the perch begin to pack. Eng.
  4. To depart in haste; -- generally with off or away.
    Poor Stella must pack off to town Swift.
    You shall pack, And never more darken my doors again. Tennyson.
  5. To unite in bad measures; to confederate for ill purposes; to join in collusion. Obs. "Go pack with him." Shak. South.

Webster 1913