Etymology From Middle English pak, pakke, from Old English *pæcca and/or Middle Dutch pak, packe; both ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *pakkō, from Proto-Germanic *pakkô (“bundle, pack”). Cognate with Dutch pak (“pack”), Low German Pack (“pack”), German Pack (“pack”), Swedish packe (“pack”), Icelandic pakka, pakki (“package”).
A bundle made up and prepared to be carried; especially, a bundle to be carried on the back, but also a load for an animal, a bale.
The horses carried the packs across the plain.
We do not ask him to make up his mind, but to make up his pack.1854, Henry David Thoreau, Slavery in Massachusetts:
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A number or quantity equal to the contents of a pack
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A multitude.
a pack of lies
a pack of complaints
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A number or quantity of connected or similar things; a collective.
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A full set of playing cards
We were going to play cards, but nobody brought a pack.
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The assortment of playing cards used in a particular game.
cut the pack
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A group of hounds or dogs, hunting or kept together.
African wild dogs hunt by sight, although stragglers use their noses to follow the pack.2005, John D. Skinner, Christian T. Chimimba, The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion:
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A wolfpack: a number of wolves, hunting together.
If I hurried down to the river, he said, I should be sure to fall in with a pack of wolves, for just as he was driving up the hill close to the sound, they started up the river on the ice.1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 117:
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A flock of knots.
They form extremely tight flocks, which carpet the ground, giving rise to the descriptive name of "a pack" of knots.1988, Michael Cady, Rob Hume, editors, The Complete Book of British Birds, page 154:
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A group of people associated or leagued in a bad design or practice; a gang.
a pack of thieves
"She will try, for she does not know that it is you who dropped the tallow on the shirt; but that can only be done by Christian folks, and not by a pack of trolls like we have in this place; and so I will say that I will not have anybody else for a bride except the one who can wash the shirt clean, and I know you can do that."1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 240:
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In London there are some thirty gangs of “bovver birds,” violence-prone girls who roam the streets in packs attacking almost any vulnerable object for no apparent reason other than the sheer thrill of it.1976, Freda Adler, Herbert Marcus Adler, Sisters in Crime: The Rise of the New Female Criminal, page 100:
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A group of Cub Scouts.
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A shook of cask staves.
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A bundle of sheet iron plates for rolling simultaneously.
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A large area of floating pieces of ice driven together more or less closely.
The ship had to sail round the pack of ice.
And now they came to the edge of the pack, and beyond it they could see Shiny Wall looming, through mist, and snow, and storm. But the pack rolled horribly upon the swell, and the ice giants fought and roared, and leapt upon each other's backs, and ground each other to powder […]1863, Charles Kingsley, The Water Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby:
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Medicine, Sciences An envelope, or wrapping, of sheets used in hydropathic practice, called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the method of treatment.
That stupid pack did nothing but stare at us throughout the whole project.
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Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Pool, Snooker, Sports A tight group of object balls in cue sports. Usually the reds in snooker.
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Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Rugby, Sports The forwards in a rugby team (eight in Rugby Union, six in Rugby League) who with the opposing pack constitute the scrum.
The captain had to take a man out of the pack to replace the injured fullback.
If the pack wasn't pummelling England, Handre Pollard kept delivering telling blows.2019 November 3, Liam de Carme, “Boks, you beauties”, in Sunday Times:
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The largest group of blockers from both teams skating in close proximity.
Physical To make a pack of; to arrange closely and securely in a pack; hence, to place and arrange compactly as in a pack
to pack goods in a box; to pack fish
strange materials wound up in that shape and texture, and packed together with wonderful art in the several cavities of the skull1712, Joseph Addison, The Spectator, number 275:
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Where, for these many hundred years, the bones Of all my buried ancestors are packedc. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
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Physical 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.
to pack a trunk; the play, or the audience, packs the theater
By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:
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The mix of ballet vocabulary, modern techniques and African steps is familiar, but the extent to which Mr. Rhoden packs — and overpacks — phrases, cultivates warp-speed delivery and hyperextends every possible hip jut and arabesque is, thank goodness, something special to Complexions.2007 November 23, Claudia La Rocco, “Ballet and African Steps, Delivered at Warp Speed”, in The New York Times:
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Physical To wrap in a wet or dry sheet, within numerous coverings.
The doctor gave Kelly some sulfa pills and packed his arm in hot-water bags.
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Physical To make impervious, such as by filling or surrounding with suitable material, or to fit or adjust so as to move without allowing air, water, or steam inside.
to pack a joint; to pack the piston of a steam engine; pack someone's arm with ice.
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Physical To make up packs, bales, or bundles; to stow articles securely for transportation.
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Physical To form a compact mass, especially in order for transportation.
the goods pack conveniently; wet snow packs well
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Physical, Of animals To gather together in flocks, herds, schools or similar groups of animals.
the grouse or the perch begin to pack
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Historical, Physical To combine (telegraph messages) in order to send them more cheaply as a single transmission.
Card games, Games To sort and arrange (the cards) in the pack to give oneself an unfair advantage
Mighty dukes pack cards for half a crown.1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC:
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To bring together or make up unfairly, in order to secure a certain result.
to pack a jury
The expected council was dwindling into[…]a packed assembly of Italian bishops.1687, Francis Atterbury, An answer to some considerations on the spirit of Martin Luther and the original of the Reformation:
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To contrive unfairly or fraudulently; to plot.
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To put together for morally wrong purposes; to join in cahoots.
This naughty man / Shall face to face be brought to Margaret, / Who, I believe, was pack'd in all this wrong, / Hired to it by your brother.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
our thighs packed with wax, our mouths with honeyc. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
› To move, send or carry.
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To cause to go; to send away with baggage or belongings; especially, to send away peremptorily or suddenly; – sometimes with off. See pack off.
to pack a boy off to school
Till George be packed with post horse up to heaven.c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
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US, Western To transport in a pack, or in the manner of a pack (on the backs of men or animals).
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To depart in haste; – generally with off or away.
Poor Stella must pack off to town.1723, Jonathan Swift, Stella at Wood-Park:
You shall pack, / And never more darken my doors again.1842, Alfred Tennyson, Dora:
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Slang To carry weapons, especially firearms, on one's person.
packing heat
A: What was he packing? B: He was packing an M1911 with a custom large-capacity magazine.
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Slang To have a large penis, as if carrying a large weapon on one's person.
Progressive aspect
Wow, get a load of him — he's packing.
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Especially To wear an object, such as a prosthetic penis, inside one’s trousers to appear more male or masculine.
Of a trans man or drag king
I am a butch bisexual woman […] Frequently I like to appear as masculine as I can, often passing for male on the street. […] Sometimes I pack when I go out, putting my dildo in my pants and wearing my dick out of the house.1995, Robin Sweeney, “Too Butch to Be Bi (or You Can't Judge a Boy by Her Lover)”, in Naomi Tucker, Liz Highleyman, Rebecca Kaplan, editors, Bisexual Politics: Theories, Queries, and Visions, Binghamton: The Haworth Press, →ISBN, page 181:
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Hobbies, Lifestyle, SportsSlang To block a shot, especially in basketball.
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Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Rugby, Sports To play together cohesively, specially with reference to technique in the scrum.