Pack definition | Dictionary.com

pack

1 [pak]

–noun

1.	a group of things wrapped or tied together for easy handling or carrying; a bundle, esp. one to be carried on the back of an animal or a person: a mule pack; a hiker's pack.

2.	a definite quantity or standard measure of something wrapped up or otherwise assembled for merchandising (sometimes used in combination): a pack of cigarettes; a six-pack of beer.

3.	the quantity of something that is packaged, canned, or the like, at one time, in one season, etc.: last year's salmon pack.

4.	a group of people or things: a pack of fools; a pack of lies.

5.	a group of certain animals of the same kind, esp. predatory ones: a pack of wolves.

6.	Hunting. a number of hounds, esp. foxhounds and beagles, regularly used together in a hunt.

7.	a complete set of playing cards, usually 52 in number; deck.

backpack.

9.	a considerable area of pieces of floating ice driven or packed together.

10.	Metalworking. a pile of metal sheets for hot-rolling together.

11.

Medicine/Medical.

a.	a wrapping of the body in wet or dry clothes for therapeutic purposes.

b.	the cloths so used.

c.	Obsolete. the state of being so wrapped.

12.

Mining.

a.	Also called pack wall. a rubble wall for supporting a roof.

b.	any of various other roof supports of timber, timber and rubble, or rubble and wire mesh.

13.	a cosmetic material, usually of a pastelike consistency, applied either to the face or to the hair and scalp: a mud pack; a beauty pack; a henna pack.

14.	pac ² (def. 1).

15.	Obsolete. a plot; conspiracy.

16.	Obsolete. a low or worthless person.

–verb (used with object)

17.	to make into a pack or bundle.

18.	to form into a group or compact mass.

19.	to fill with anything compactly arranged: to pack a trunk.

20.	to put into or arrange compactly in a trunk, valise, etc., as for traveling or storage: I packed a two-week supply of clothes for the trip.

21.	to press or crowd together within; cram: The crowd packed the gallery.

22.	to prepare for marketing by putting into containers or packages: to pack fruit for shipping.

23.	to make airtight, vaportight, or watertight by stuffing: to pack the piston of a steam engine.

24.	to cover or envelop with something pressed closely around.

25.	to load, as with packs: We packed the mules and then set off for the lake.

26.	to carry or wear, esp. as part of one's usual equipment: to pack a gun.

27.	Informal. to deliver (a powerful blow, strong message, etc.): He packs a better punch than any heavyweight in years. His speech packed a powerful plea for peace.

28.	to treat with a therapeutic pack.

–verb (used without object)

29.	to pack goods in compact form, as for transportation or storage (often fol. by up).

30.	to place clothes and personal items in a suitcase, trunk, etc., preparatory to traveling.

31.	to be capable of or suitable for compact storage or packing for transportation: articles that pack well.

32.	to crowd together, as persons: The audience packed into the auditorium.

33.	to become compacted: Wet snow packs readily.

34.	to collect into a group: The grouse began to pack.

–adjective

35.	transporting, or used in transporting, a pack or load: pack animals.

36.	compressed into a pack; packed.

37.	used in or adapted for packing: pack equipment.

38.	Chiefly Scot. (of animals) tame.

—Verb phrases

39.	pack in or up, to relinquish or give up; quit: One failure was no reason to pack the whole experiment in. After thirty years of touring, the violinist packed his career up and retired.

40.

pack off or away,

a.	to dispatch: We packed the kids off to camp for the summer.

b.	to leave hastily.

—Idiom

41.

pack it in,

a.	to give up; abandon one's efforts: In 1972 we packed it in and moved back to Florida.

b.	to cease being a nuisance.

Origin:
1175–1225; (n.) ME pak, packe < MD pac or perh. MLG pak; (v.) ME pakken < MD or MLG

Language Translation for : Pack

Spanish:

fardo, bulto,

German:

der Packen,

Japanese:

包み

View 30 other languages »

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pack

2 [pak]

–verb (used with object)

to choose, collect, arrange, or manipulate (cards, persons, facts, etc.) so as to serve one's own purposes: to pack the deck; to pack a jury.

Origin:
1520–30; perh. var. of pact

pack

3 [pak]

–adjective

Scot. very friendly or intimate.

Origin:
1780–90; perh. special use of pack ¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pac also pack (pāk) Pronunciation Key
n.

A moccasin or soft shoe designed to be worn inside a boot.
A shoepac.

[Short for shoepac, alteration (influenced by shoe) of pidgin Delaware seppock, shoe, from Unami Delaware chípahko, shoes.]

pack¹ (pāk) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. A collection of items tied up or wrapped; a bundle.
2. A container made to be carried on the body of a person or animal.
3. A complete set of related items: a pack of cards.
4. Informal A large amount; a heap: earned a pack of money.
5. A group of animals, such as dogs or wolves, that run and hunt together.
6. A gang of people: a pack of hoodlums.
7. An organized troop having common interests: a Cub Scout pack. See Synonyms at flock¹.
8. The swathing of a patient or a body part in hot, cold, wet, or dry materials, such as cloth towels, sheets, or blankets.
9. The materials so used.
10. A material, such as gauze, that is therapeutically inserted into a body cavity or wound; packing.
The amount, as of food, that is processed and packaged at one time or in one season.
A small package containing a standard number of identical or similar items: a pack of matches.
1. A complete set of related items: a pack of cards.
2. Informal A large amount; a heap: earned a pack of money.
3. A group of animals, such as dogs or wolves, that run and hunt together.
4. A gang of people: a pack of hoodlums.
5. An organized troop having common interests: a Cub Scout pack. See Synonyms at flock¹.
6. The swathing of a patient or a body part in hot, cold, wet, or dry materials, such as cloth towels, sheets, or blankets.
7. The materials so used.
8. A material, such as gauze, that is therapeutically inserted into a body cavity or wound; packing.
1. A group of animals, such as dogs or wolves, that run and hunt together.
2. A gang of people: a pack of hoodlums.
3. An organized troop having common interests: a Cub Scout pack. See Synonyms at flock¹.
4. The swathing of a patient or a body part in hot, cold, wet, or dry materials, such as cloth towels, sheets, or blankets.
5. The materials so used.
6. A material, such as gauze, that is therapeutically inserted into a body cavity or wound; packing.
A mass of large pieces of floating ice driven together.
Medicine
1. The swathing of a patient or a body part in hot, cold, wet, or dry materials, such as cloth towels, sheets, or blankets.
2. The materials so used.
3. A material, such as gauze, that is therapeutically inserted into a body cavity or wound; packing.
An ice pack; an ice bag.
A cosmetic paste that is applied to the skin, allowed to dry, and then rinsed off.

v. packed, pack·ing, packs

v. tr.

To fold, roll, or combine into a bundle; wrap up.
1. To put into a receptacle for transporting or storing: pack one's belongings.
2. To fill up with items: pack one's trunk.
3. To bring together (persons or things) closely; crowd together: managed to pack 300 students into the lecture hall.
4. To fill up tight; cram.
5. To wrap (a patient) in a pack.
6. To insert a pack into a body cavity or wound.
To process and put into containers in order to preserve, transport, or sell: packed the fruit in jars.
1. To bring together (persons or things) closely; crowd together: managed to pack 300 students into the lecture hall.
2. To fill up tight; cram.
3. To wrap (a patient) in a pack.
4. To insert a pack into a body cavity or wound.
Medicine
1. To wrap (a patient) in a pack.
2. To insert a pack into a body cavity or wound.
To wrap tightly for protection or to prevent leakage: pack a valve stem.
To press together; compact firmly: packed the clay and straw into bricks.
Informal To carry, deliver, or have available for action: a thug who packed a pistol; a fighter who packs a hard punch.
To send unceremoniously: The parents packed both children off to bed.
To constitute (a voting panel) by appointment, selection, or arrangement in such a way that it is favorable to one's purposes or point of view; rig: "In 1937 Roosevelt threatened to pack the court" (New Republic).

v. intr.

To place one's belongings in boxes or luggage for transporting or storing.
To be susceptible of compact storage: Dishes pack more easily than glasses.
To form lumps or masses; become compacted.

[Middle English pak, possibly of Low German origin.]

pack'a·bil'i·ty n., pack'a·ble adj.

pack² (pāk) Pronunciation Key
n. Variant of pac.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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pack (n.)

"bundle," c.1225, probably from a Low Ger. word (cf. M.Du. pac, pack "bundle," M.L.G. pak, M.Flem. pac, attested from 1199), originally a term of wool traders in Flanders; or possibly from O.N. pakki, all of unknown origin. It. pacco is a Du. loan word. Meaning "set of persons" (usually of a low character" is c.1300, older than sense of "group of hunting animals" (early 15c.). Extended to collective sets of playing cards (1597), floating ice (1791), cigarettes (1924), and submarines (1943). Meaning "knapsack on a frame" is attested from 1916. Pack-horse is from c.1475; packsaddle "saddle for supporting packs on the back of a mount" is from 1388 (pakke sadil). Pack of lies first attested 1763.

pack (v.)

c.1300, "to put together in a pack," from pack (n.), possibly influenced by Anglo-Fr. empaker (1294) and M.L. paccare "pack." Some senses suggesting "make secret arrangement" are from an Elizabethan mispronunciation of pact. Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of "to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun," underworld slang from 1940s; "to be capable of delivering" (a punch, etc.) is from 1921.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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pack
noun
1.	a large indefinite number; "a battalion of ants"; "a multitude of TV antennas"; "a plurality of religions" [syn: battalion]
2.	a complete collection of similar things
3.	a convenient package or parcel (as of cigarettes or film)
4.	an association of criminals; "police tried to break up the gang"; "a pack of thieves" [syn: gang]
5.	an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose [syn: clique]
6.	a group of hunting animals
7.	a cream that cleanses and tones the skin
8.	a sheet or blanket (either dry or wet) to wrap around the body for its therapeutic effect
9.	a bundle (especially one carried on the back)
verb
1.	arrange in a container; "pack the books into the boxes" [ant: take out]
2.	fill to capacity; "This singer always packs the concert halls"; "The murder trial packed the court house"
3.	compress into a wad; "wad paper into the box"
4.	carry, as on one's back; "Pack your tents to the top of the mountain"
5.	set up a committee or legislative body with one's own supporters so as to influence the outcome; "pack a jury"
6.	have with oneself; have on one's person; "She always takes an umbrella"; "I always carry money"; "She packs a gun when she goes into the mountains" [syn: carry]
7.	press tightly together or cram; "The crowd packed the auditorium" [syn: throng]
8.	hike with a backpack; "Every summer they are backpacking in the Rockies" [syn: backpack]
9.	press down tightly; "tamp the coffee grinds in the container to make espresso" [syn: tamp down]
10.	seal with packing; "pack the faucet"
11.	have the property of being packable or of compacting easily; "This powder compacts easily"; "Such odd-shaped items do not pack well" [syn: compact]
12.	load with a pack
13.	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® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Cite This Source

pack

In addition to the idioms beginning with pack, also see Joe six-pack; send someone about his or her business (packing).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source

Pack

Pack\, n. 1. (Med.) In hydropathic practice, a wrapping of blankets or sheets called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the condition of the blankets or sheets used, put about a patient to give him treatment; also, the fact or condition of being so treated.

2. (Rugby Football) The forwards who compose one half of the scrummage; also, the scrummage.

Pack and prime road or way, a pack road or bridle way.

Pack

Pack\, v. t. To cover, envelop, or protect tightly with something; specif. (Hydropathy), to envelop in a wet or dry sheet, within numerous coverings.

Pack

Pack\, n. [Cf. Pact.] A pact. [Obs.] --Daniel.

Pack

Pack\, n. [Akin to D. pak, G. pack, Dan. pakke, Sw. packa, Icel. pakki, Gael. & Ir. pac, Arm. pak. Cf. Packet.]

1. A bundle made up and prepared to be carried; especially, a bundle to be carried on the back; a load for an animal; a bale, as of goods. --Piers Plowman.

2. [Cf. Peck, n.] A number or quantity equal to the contents of a pack; hence, a multitude; a burden. "A pack of sorrows." "A pack of blessings." --Shak.

Note: "In England, by a pack of meal is meant 280 lbs.; of wool, 240 lbs." --McElrath.

3. A number or quantity of connected or similar things; as: (a) A full set of playing cards; also, the assortment used in a particular game; as, a euchre pack. (b) A number of hounds or dogs, hunting or kept together. (c) A number of persons associated or leagued in a bad design or practice; a gang; as, a pack of thieves or knaves. (d) A shook of cask staves. (e) A bundle of sheet-iron plates for rolling simultaneously.

4. A large area of floating pieces of ice driven together more or less closely. --Kane.

5. An envelope, or wrapping, of sheets used in hydropathic practice, called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the method of treatment.

6. [Prob. the same word; but cf. AS. p?can to deceive.] A loose, lewd, or worthless person. See Baggage. [Obs.] --Skelton.

Pack animal, an animal, as a horse, mule, etc., employed in carrying packs.

Pack cloth, a coarse cloth, often duck, used in covering packs or bales.

Pack horse. See Pack animal (above).

Pack ice. See def. 4, above.

Pack moth (Zo["o]l.), a small moth (Anacampsis sarcitella) which, in the larval state, is very destructive to wool and woolen fabrics.

Pack needle, a needle for sewing with pack thread. --Piers Plowman.

Pack saddle, a saddle made for supporting the load on a pack animal. --Shak.

Pack staff, a staff for supporting a pack; a peddler's staff.

Pack thread, strong thread or small twine used for tying packs or parcels.

Pack train (Mil.), a troop of pack animals.

Pack

Pack\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Packed; p. pr. & vb. n. Packing.] [Akin to D. pakken, G. packen, Dan. pakke, Sw. packa, Icel. pakka. See Pack, n.]

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

Pack\, v. i. 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.

To send packing, to drive away; to send off roughly or in disgrace; to dismiss unceremoniously. "The parliament . . . presently sent him packing." --South.

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