What does "pack" mean?
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.
Pack
/pæk/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: 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.
- Grammar: pack is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: a mass of, a world of, abound, abound with.
- Useful contrasts: bare, decompress, disperse.
- Usage evidence: Each of them carried their own pack.
How to use "pack"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pack" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pack" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pack" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pack" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pack" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "a mass of" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pack", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 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."
- 2 a convenient package or parcel (as of cigarettes or film) wordnet
- 3 A number or quantity equal to the contents of a pack
- 4 a bundle (especially one carried on the back) wordnet
- 5 A multitude.
"a pack of lies"
Show 24 more definitions
- 6 a sheet or blanket (either dry or wet) to wrap around the body for its therapeutic effect wordnet
- 7 A number or quantity of connected or similar things; a collective.
- 8 a cream that cleanses and tones the skin wordnet
- 9 A full set of playing cards
"We were going to play cards, but nobody brought a pack."
- 10 a complete collection of similar things wordnet
- 11 The assortment of playing cards used in a particular game.
"cut the pack"
- 12 a group of hunting animals wordnet
- 13 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."
- 14 an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose wordnet
- 15 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."
- 16 an association of criminals wordnet
- 17 A flock of knots.
"They form extremely tight flocks, which carpet the ground, giving rise to the descriptive name of "a pack" of knots."
- 18 a large indefinite quantity wordnet
- 19 A group of people associated or leagued in a bad design or practice; a gang.
"a pack of thieves"
- 20 A group of Cub Scouts.
- 21 A shook of cask staves.
- 22 A bundle of sheet iron plates for rolling simultaneously.
- 23 A large area of floating pieces of ice driven together more or less closely.
"The ship had to sail round the pack of ice."
- 24 An envelope, or wrapping, of sheets used in hydropathic practice, called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the method of treatment.
- 25 A loose, lewd, or worthless person. slang
"That stupid pack did nothing but stare at us throughout the whole project."
- 26 A tight group of object balls in cue sports. Usually the reds in snooker.
- 27 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."
- 28 The largest group of blockers from both teams skating in close proximity.
- 29 A package of cigarettes. slang
"“Carlo, I told you that three packs a day would kill you long before I was gone.”"
Verb
- 1 To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.; To make a pack of; to arrange closely and securely in a pack; hence, to place and arrange compactly as in a pack physical, transitive
"to pack goods in a box; to pack fish"
- 2 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 wordnet
- 3 To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.; 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. physical, transitive
"to pack a trunk; the play, or the audience, packs the theater"
- 4 carry, as on one's back wordnet
- 5 To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.; To wrap in a wet or dry sheet, within numerous coverings. physical, transitive
"The doctor gave Kelly some sulfa pills and packed his arm in hot-water bags."
Show 31 more definitions
- 6 arrange in a container wordnet
- 7 To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.; 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. physical, transitive
"to pack a joint; to pack the piston of a steam engine; pack someone's arm with ice."
- 8 load with a pack wordnet
- 9 To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.; To make up packs, bales, or bundles; to stow articles securely for transportation. intransitive, physical
- 10 compress into a wad wordnet
- 11 To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.; To form a compact mass, especially in order for transportation. intransitive, physical
"the goods pack conveniently; wet snow packs well"
- 12 have the property of being packable or of compacting easily wordnet
- 13 To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.; To gather together in flocks, herds, schools or similar groups of animals. intransitive, physical
"the grouse or the perch begin to pack"
- 14 seal with packing wordnet
- 15 To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.; To combine (telegraph messages) in order to send them more cheaply as a single transmission. historical, physical, transitive
- 16 press down tightly wordnet
- 17 To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.; To compress (data). physical, transitive
- 18 hike with a backpack wordnet
- 19 To cheat.; To sort and arrange (the cards) in the pack to give oneself an unfair advantage transitive
"Mighty dukes pack cards for half a crown."
- 20 press tightly together or cram wordnet
- 21 To cheat.; To bring together or make up unfairly, in order to secure a certain result. transitive
"to pack a jury"
- 22 fill to capacity wordnet
- 23 To cheat.; To contrive unfairly or fraudulently; to plot. transitive
- 24 set up a committee or legislative body with one's own supporters so as to influence the outcome wordnet
- 25 To cheat.; To put together for morally wrong purposes; to join in cahoots. intransitive
"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."
- 26 have with oneself; have on one's person wordnet
- 27 To load with a pack. transitive
"to pack a horse"
- 28 To load; to encumber. figuratively, transitive
"our thighs packed with wax, our mouths with honey"
- 29 To move, send or carry.; To cause to go; to send away with baggage or belongings; especially, to send away peremptorily or suddenly; – sometimes with off. See pack off. transitive
"to pack a boy off to school"
- 30 To move, send or carry.; To transport in a pack, or in the manner of a pack (on the backs of men or animals). US, Western, transitive
- 31 To move, send or carry.; To depart in haste; – generally with off or away. intransitive
"Poor Stella must pack off to town."
- 32 To move, send or carry.; To carry weapons, especially firearms, on one's person. slang, transitive
"packing heat"
- 33 To move, send or carry.; To have a large penis, as if carrying a large weapon on one's person. slang, transitive
"Wow, get a load of him — he's packing."
- 34 To move, send or carry.; To wear an object, such as a prosthetic penis, inside one’s trousers to appear more male or masculine. especially, intransitive
"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."
- 35 To block a shot, especially in basketball. slang, transitive
- 36 To play together cohesively, specially with reference to technique in the scrum. intransitive
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Each of them carried their own pack."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pack"?
Common synonyms include: a mass of, a world of, abound, abound with, accumulation, ace.
How do you use "pack" in a sentence?
Each of them carried their own pack.
How do you pronounce "pack"?
Pronounced /pæk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English pakken, from the noun (see above). Compare Middle Dutch packen (“to pack”), Middle Low German packen (“to pack”).