pack (packs plural & 3rd person present) (packing present participle) (packed past tense & past participle )
1 verb When you pack a bag, you put clothes and other things into it, because you are leaving a place or going on holiday.
When I was 17, I packed my bags and left home... V n
I packed and said goodbye to Charlie. V
packing n-uncount
She left Frances to finish her packing.
2 verb When people pack things, for example in a factory, they put them into containers or parcels so that they can be transported and sold.
They offered me a job packing goods in a warehouse... V n
Machines now exist to pack olives in jars. V n in n
...sardines packed in oil. V-ed
packing n-uncount
His onions cost 9p a lb wholesale; packing and transport costs 10p.
3 verb If people or things pack into a place or if they pack a place, there are so many of them that the place is full.
(=cram)
Hundreds of thousands of people packed into the mosque... V into n
Seventy thousand people will pack the stadium. V n
4 n-count A packof things is a collection of them that is sold or given together in a box or bag.
oft N of n
The club will send a free information pack., ...a pack of cigarettes...
5 n-count A pack is a bag containing your possessions that you carry on your back when you are travelling.
(=rucksack, backpack)
I hid the money in my pack.
6 n-count You can refer to a group of people who go around together as a pack, especially when it is a large group that you feel threatened by.
usu N of n
...a pack of journalists eager to question him...
7 n-count A packof wolves or dogs is a group of them that hunt together.
oft N of n
8 n-count A packof playing cards is a complete set of playing cards.
(mainly BRIT) oft N of n
in AM, usually use deck
10 If you say that an account is a pack of lies, you mean that it is completely untrue.
a pack of lies phrase PHR after v, v-link PHR
You told me a pack of lies.
11 If you send someone packing, you make them go away.
INFORMAL
send sb packing phrase V inflects
I decided I wanted to live alone and I sent him packing. pack in
1 phrasal verb If you pack something in, you stop doing it.
(mainly BRIT)
INFORMAL I'd just packed in a job the day before... V P n (not pron)
Pack it in. Stop being spiteful. V n P
2 phrasal verb If someone packs in things or people, they fit a lot of them into a limited space or time.
(=cram in)
Prisons are having to pack in as many inmates as possible... V P n (not pron)
It's kind of a referendum, though a lot of issues are packed in. V P n (not pron), Also V n P If a play, film or event packs them in, lots of people go to see it.
INFORMAL
pack them in phrase V inflects
`Blow your head!' is still packing them in at Camden's Jazz Café every Friday night. pack into
1 phrasal verb If someone packs a lot of something into a limited space or time, they fit a lot into it.
(=cram into)
I have tried to pack a good deal into a few words. V n P n
2 phrasal verb If people or things are packed into a place, so many of them are put in there that the place becomes very full.
usu passive
(=cram into)
Some 700 people were packed into a hotel room. be V-ed P n pack off phrasal verb If you pack someone off somewhere, you send them there to stay for a period of time.
INFORMAL He packed off his wife and children to stay in a caravan in Wales... V P n (not pron) to-inf
I finally succeeded in packing her off to bed. V n P to n, Also V n P pack up
1 phrasal verb If you pack up or if you pack up your things, you put your possessions or the things you have been using in a case or bag, because you are leaving.
They packed up and went home... V P
He began packing up his things. V P n (not pron), Also V n P
2 phrasal verb If a machine or a part of the body packs up, it stops working. (BRIT) INFORMAL In the end it was his stomach and lungs that packed up... V P
brat pack (brat packs plural )A brat pack is a group of young people, especially actors or writers, who are popular or successful at the moment. (JOURNALISM) n-count
...the Hollywood Brat Pack.
face pack (face packs plural )A face pack is a thick substance which you spread on your face, allow to dry for a short time, and then remove, in order to clean your skin thoroughly.
(BRIT) n-count
in AM, use face mask
flat pack (flat packs plural ), flat-pack Flat pack furniture is furniture such as shelves and cupboards which you buy as a number of separate pieces and assemble yourself.
(BRIT) n-count usu N n
ice pack (ice packs plural )An ice pack is a bag full of ice which is used to cool parts of the body when they are injured or painful. n-count
pack animal (pack animals plural )A pack animal is an animal such as a horse or donkey that is used to carry things on journeys. n-count
pack ice
Pack ice is an area of ice that is floating on the sea. It is made up of pieces of ice that have been pushed together. n-uncount
rat pack
People sometimes refer to the group of journalists and photographers who follow famous people around as therat pack, especially when they think that their behaviour is unacceptable.
(BRIT) n-sing usu the N (disapproval)
six-pack (six-packs plural )
1 n-count A six-pack is a pack containing six bottles or cans sold together.
oft N of n
He picked up a six-pack of beer.
2 n-count If a man has a six-pack, his stomach muscles are very well developed.
oft N n
He has a six-pack stomach and is extremely well-proportioned.
