pack

(păk)
n.

1. 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.
2. The amount, as of food, that is processed and packaged at one time or in one season.
3. A small package containing a standard number of identical or similar items: a pack of matches.
4. 1. A complete set of related items: a pack of cards.
   2. Informal. A large amount; a heap: earned a pack of money.
5. 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.
6. A mass of large pieces of floating ice driven together.
7. 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.
8. An ice pack; an ice bag.
9. A cosmetic paste that is applied to the skin, allowed to dry, and then rinsed off.

v., packed, pack·ing, packs.

v.tr.

1. To fold, roll, or combine into a bundle; wrap up.
2. 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 process and put into containers in order to preserve, transport, or sell: packed the fruit in jars.
4. 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.
5. Medicine.
   1. To wrap (a patient) in a pack.
   2. To insert a pack into a body cavity or wound.
6. To wrap tightly for protection or to prevent leakage: pack a valve stem.
7. To press together; compact firmly: packed the clay and straw into bricks.
8. Informal. To carry, deliver, or have available for action: a thug who packed a pistol; a fighter who packs a hard punch.
9. To send unceremoniously: The parents packed both children off to bed.
10. 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.

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

idiom:

pack it in Informal.

1. To cease work or activity: Let's pack it in for the day.

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

packability pack'a·bil'i·ty n.
packable pack'a·ble adj.

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sign description: Both hands move inward in a repeated motion.

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verb
verb

1: trans. To be armed with. (1902 —) .
R. Chandler Don't you pack no rod? (1940).

2: intr. To be armed with a gun. (1953 —) .
Premier I worked with rappers who pack guns...As long as he ain't packin', I'm straight (2001).

[From earlier sense, to carry with one.]

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For a list of words related to pack, see:

• Animal Groups - pack: group of wild animals moving together, esp. dogs or wolves; group of grouse
• Dressings and Supports - pack: folded, moistened, often medicated pad of cotton or cloth applied to body or inserted in cavity
• Cases, Boxes, and Bags - pack: bundle arranged for ease in carrying, esp. on back
• Smoking and Tobacco - pack: rectangular, paper or soft cardboard container usu. containing twenty cigarettes
• Intrigues, Plots, and Corruption - pack: (vb) influence makeup of (an institution or body) to secure one’s purpose

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See words rhyming with "pack."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Pack.