pack

A2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /pæk/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like peck /ɛ/ vs /æ/ Sounds like pock /æ/ vs /ɑ/

Freq #1522

Meanings

1

verb
To put things into a bag, box, or case, especially for travel or storage.

Don't forget to pack the books into the boxes before we move.
2

verb
To fill a place completely with people.

The crowd packed the auditorium long before the show began.
3

noun
A bundle of things tied together to be carried, especially on your back.

The horses carried the heavy packs across the plain.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to fill a place completely... jam cram

Opposites

unpack

Word family

Forms packs

Derived forms airpackartpackbackpackbagpackbeltpackbipackbodypackbrickpackcopackcoursepackdaypackdepack

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

pack a bag
put belongings into a bag in preparation for travel

Verb + noun

Proverbs (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Pack comes from the noun pak, found in both Middle Dutch and Middle Low German; where those languages got the word is unknown. The related words packet, originally meaning “a little pack,” and package developed in the 16th century.

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”).

pak Middle Dutch *pæcca Old English *pakkō Proto-West Germanic *pakkô Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# pack

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /pæk/
**Frequency rank:** 1522

## Meanings
1. To put things into a bag, box, or case, especially for travel or storage.
2. To fill a place completely with people.
3. A bundle of things tied together to be carried, especially on your back.

## Examples
- Don't forget to pack the books into the boxes before we move.
- The crowd packed the auditorium long before the show began.
- The horses carried the heavy packs across the plain.

## Antonyms
- unpack

## Derived Forms
- airpack
- artpack
- backpack
- bagpack
- beltpack
- bipack
- bodypack
- brickpack
- copack
- coursepack
- daypack
- depack

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pak
- Root: *pæcca
- Root: *pakkō
- Root: *pakkô

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
Pack comes 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”). Modern senses include to put things into a bag, box, or case, especially for travel or storage and to fill a place completely with people. The wider word family includes derivatives such as airpack, artpack, backpack, bagpack, beltpack, and bipack.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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