pack

/pæk/

pack noun: 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.

Noun

pack (plural packs)

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
A number or quantity equal to the contents of a pack
A multitude.
- a pack of lies
- a pack of complaints
A number or quantity of connected or similar things; a collective.
A full set of playing cards
- We were going to play cards, but nobody brought a pack.
Synonyms:

deck
The assortment of playing cards used in a particular game.
- cut the pack
(collective) A group of hounds or dogs, hunting or living 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
(collective) A group 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 Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 117
Synonyms:

wolfpack
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
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...1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 240
A group of Cub Scouts.
A shook of cask staves.

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A bundle of sheet iron plates for rolling simultaneously.
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
An envelope, or wrapping, of sheets used in hydropathic practice, called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the method of treatment.
(slang) A loose, lewd, or worthless person.
- That stupid pack did nothing but stare at us throughout the whole project.
A tight group of object balls in cue sports. Usually the reds in snooker.
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
(roller derby) The largest group of blockers from both teams skating in close proximity.
(slang) A package of cigarettes.
- “Carlo, I told you that three packs a day would kill you long before I was gone.”

Verb

pack (third-person singular simple present packs, present participle packing, simple past and past participle packed)

(physical, transitive) 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
(physical, transitive) 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
(physical, transitive) 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.
(physical, transitive) 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.
(intransitive, physical) To make up packs, bales, or bundles; to stow articles securely for transportation.
(intransitive, physical) To form a compact mass, especially in order for transportation.
- the goods pack conveniently; wet snow packs well
(intransitive, physical) To gather together in flocks, herds, schools or similar groups of animals.
- the grouse or the perch begin to pack
(historical, physical, transitive) To combine (telegraph messages) in order to send them more cheaply as a single transmission.
(physical, transitive) To compress (data).
(transitive, social) 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
Synonyms:

stack
(transitive, social) 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
(transitive, social) To contrive unfairly or fraudulently; to plot.

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(intransitive, social) 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]...
(transitive) To load with a pack.
- to pack a horse
(figuratively, transitive) To load; to encumber.
- 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: […]...
(transitive) 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...
(US, Western, transitive) To transport in a pack, or in the manner of a pack (on the backs of men or animals).
(intransitive) 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
(slang, transitive) 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.
(ambitransitive, slang, progressive aspect) To have a large penis, as if carrying a large weapon on one's person.
- Wow, get a load of him — he's packing.
(especially, intransitive) To wear an object, such as a prosthetic penis, inside one’s trousers to appear more male or masculine.
- 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...
(slang, transitive) To block a shot, especially in basketball.
(intransitive) To play together cohesively, specially with reference to technique in the scrum.

pack meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

pack in Tamil

திரட்டிக் கட்டு, பொதி, பொருட்களை பொதிசெய், சிப்பமிடு

pack in Urdu

پیک, پیک کرنا

More languagesFewer languages

pack in Bengali: প্যাঁক্, দল, ফেটি, গাঁট
pack in Telugu: మూట mūṭa
pack in Malayalam: പൊതി, കൂട്ടം
pack in Kannada: ಮೂಟೆ, ಗಂಟು, ಕಟ್ಟು, ಪಿಂಡಿ
pack in Punjabi: ਪੈਕ, ਪੈਕ ਕਰੋ, ਪੈਕ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ
pack in Gujarati: પેક, પેક કરો, પેક કરવા
pack in Odia: ପ୍ଯ଼ାକ୍ କରନ୍ତୁ, ପ୍ଯ଼ାକ୍, ପ୍ଯ଼ାକ୍ କରିବାକୁ
pack in Nepali: प्याक गर्नुहोस्, प्याक गर्न
pack in Tagalog: balutan, basta, baraha, manghal
pack in Arabic: حُزْمَة ḥuzma, عُبُوَّة ʕubuwwa, طَرْد ṭard, وَضَّبَ waḍḍaba
pack in Malay: kawanan
pack in Thai: ซอง sɔɔng, ห่อ hɔ̀ɔ
pack in Vietnamese: bao, chồng, xấp, tập

Examples of pack in a sentence

Jonny always bots off me. I just wish he’d get his own pack.
You can buy apples in a pack, but they are cheaper loose.
Pack the boxes, but hold out a few blue ones for later.

All 40 example sentences with pack

Synonyms of pack

Antonyms

unpack

Forms of pack

Noun
plural	packs
Verb
third-person singular present	packs
present participle	packing
past participle	packed
past	packed

Past tense of pack: packed

Plural of pack: packs

Origin of pack

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”).

From Middle English pakken, from the noun (see above). Compare Middle Dutch packen (“to pack”), Middle Low German packen (“to pack”).

Words formed from pack

Phrases with pack

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Words that rhyme with pack

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about pack

What does pack mean?: Pack means 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.
What is pack in Hindi?: Pack in Hindi is गंजीफ़ा (gañjīfā). See Pack meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is pack?: Pack can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce pack?: Pack is pronounced /pæk/.
What is the plural of pack?: The plural of pack is packs.

Words near pack in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: pack (page history and authors); गंजीफ़ा (Hindi) (page history and authors); pack (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pack (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pack (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pack (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); మూట (Telugu) (page history and authors); pack (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pack (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pack (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pack (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pack (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); pack (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-pack.ogg.

Cite this entry: “pack.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pack. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.