pack

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   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

   The nurse packed gauze in the wound

2. 2
   verb

   arrange in a container

   pack the books into the boxes

3. 3
   verb

   seal with packing

   pack the faucet

4. 4
   verb

   hike with a backpack

   Every summer they are backpacking in the Rockies

5. 5
   verb

   press tightly together or cram

   The crowd packed the auditorium

6. 6
   verb

   fill to capacity

   This singer always packs the concert halls

7. 7
   verb

   set up a committee or legislative body with one's own supporters so as to influence the outcome

   pack a jury

8. 8
   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.

   The horses carried the packs across the plain.

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”).