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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English pak pakke Old English *pæcca Middle Dutch pak packe Proto-West Germanic *pakkō Proto-Germanic *pakkô ( “ bundle, pack ” ) .
Cognate with Dutch pak ( “ pack ” ) , Low German Pack ( “ pack ” ) , German Pack ( “ pack ” ) , Swedish packe ( “ pack ” ) , Icelandic pakka pakki ( “ package ” ) .
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.
1854 Slavery in Massachusetts :We do not ask him to make up his mind, but to make up his pack .
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 .
The assortment of playing cards used in a particular game.
cut the pack
( collective ) hounds or dogs , hunting or living together.
2005 The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion :African wild dogs hunt by sight, although stragglers use their noses to follow the pack .
( collective ) wolves , hunting together.
Synonym: wolfpack 1886 Peter Christen Asbjørnsen , translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales , page 117 :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.
A flock of knots .
1988 The Complete Book of British Birds , page 154 :They form extremely tight flocks, which carpet the ground, giving rise to the descriptive name of "a pack " of knots.
A group of people associated or leagued in a bad design or practice; a gang .
a pack of thieves
1886 Peter Christen Asbjørnsen , translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales , page 240 :"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, and I know you can do that."
1976 Sisters in Crime: The Rise of the New Female Criminal , page 100 :In London there are some thirty gangs of “bovver birds,” violence-prone girls who roam the streets in packs attacking almost any vulnerable object for no apparent reason other than the sheer thrill of it.
A group of Cub Scouts .
A shook of cask staves .
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.
1862 1863 March, Charles Kingsley , “(please specify the page) ”, in The Water-Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby Macmillan and Co. , published 1863 , →OCLC 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 [ …]
( medicine ) envelope , or wrapping , of sheets used in hydropathic practice, called dry pack , wet pack , cold pack , etc., according to the method of treatment .( slang ) loose , lewd , or worthless person.
That stupid pack did nothing but stare at us throughout the whole project.
( snooker , pool) object balls in cue sports . Usually the reds in snooker .( rugby ) 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.
2019 November 3, Liam de Carme, “Boks, you beauties”, in Sunday Times [1] the original on 16 October 2026 :If the pack wasn't pummelling England, Handre Pollard kept delivering telling blows.
( roller derby ) blockers from both teams skating in close proximity .( slang ) “Carlo, I told you that three packs a day would kill you long before I was gone.”
Synonyms
( full set of cards ) : deck
Derived terms
Terms derived from pack (noun)
Descendants
Translations
Albanian: paketë (sq) f
Arabic: حُزْمَة f ( ḥuzma ) , عُبُوَّة f ( ʕubuwwa ) , طَرْد (ar) m ( ṭard )
Armenian: փաթեթ (hy) ( pʻatʻetʻ )
Aromanian: sartsinã f
Azerbaijani: paket
Belarusian: паке́т m ( pakjét ) , па́чка f ( páčka ) , па́чак m ( páčak )
Bulgarian: вързо́п (bg) m ( vărzóp ) , денк (bg) m ( denk ) , паке́т (bg) m ( pakét )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 包 (zh) ( bāo ) , 捆 (zh) ( kǔn )
Czech: balík (cs) m balíček (cs) m
Danish: pakke (da) c
Dutch: pak (nl) n pakje (nl) n
Esperanto: pako (eo) , pakaĵo
Estonian: pakett pakk (et)
Finnish: taakka (fi)
French: pack (fr) m paquet (fr) m
Georgian: პაკეტი ( ṗaḳeṭi ) , შეკვრა ( šeḳvra )
German: Pack (de) m Packung (de) f Bündel (de) m
Irish: paca m
Italian: basto (it) m soma (it) f carico (it) m
Japanese: パック (ja) ( pakku )
Kazakh: пакет ( paket )
Khmer: កញ្ចប់ (km) ( kɑñcɑp ) , ប៉ៅ (km) ( paw ) , បេ ( paw )
Korean: 짐 (ko) ( jim ) , 꾸러미 ( kkureomi ) , 바리 (ko) ( bari ) , 팩 (ko) ( paek ) , 갑(匣) (ko) ( gap )
Kyrgyz: пакет (ky) ( paket )
Lao: ກັບ (lo) ( kap )
Latvian: paciņa f paka f
Lithuanian: paketas (lt) m pakelis m
Macedonian: пакет (mk) m ( paket )
Māori: pīkaunga
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: илгээмж (mn) ( ilgeemž ) , пакет ( paket )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: pakke (no) m
Persian:
Iranian Persian: بَسْتِه (fa) ( baste ) , پاکَت (fa) ( pâkat )
Polish: pakiet (pl) m paczka (pl) f
Portuguese: fardo (pt) m
Romanian: sarcină (ro) f
Russian: паке́т (ru) m ( pakét ) , упако́вка (ru) f ( upakóvka ) , па́чка (ru) f ( páčka ) , свя́зка (ru) f ( svjázka )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: па̀ке̄т m
Latin: pàkēt (sh) m
Slovak: balík m balíček m
Slovene: sveženj (sl) m zavoj m paket m
Spanish: cajetilla (es) f ( of cigarettes ) , bojote m paca (es) f pack (es) m
Swedish: paket (sv) n
Tagalog: balutan (tl) , basta
Tajik: баста (tg) ( basta ) , пакет (tg) ( paket )
Tày: ben bỏ
Thai: ซอง (th) ( sɔɔng )
Turkish: paket (tr)
Ottoman Turkish: دنك ( denk ) , بالیه ( balya )
Turkmen: paket
Ukrainian: паке́т f ( pakét ) , па́чка f ( páčka ) , па́ка f ( páka )
Uzbek: paket (uz)
Vietnamese: bao (vi) , chồng (vi) , xấp (vi) , tập (vi)
Volapük: päk (vo)
a number or quantity of connected or similar things
full set of playing cards
group of dogs
— see also herd
Arabic: please add this translation if you can
Armenian: ոհմակ (hy) ( ohmak )
Belarusian: згра́я f ( zhrája ) , гайня́ f ( hajnjá )
Bulgarian: глу́тница (bg) f ( glútnica )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 群 (zh) ( qún ) , 一群 (zh) ( yīqún )
Czech: smečka (cs) f
Danish: flok (da) c
Dutch: meute (nl) f
Esperanto: hundaro
Finnish: lauma (fi)
French: meute (fr) f
Georgian: ხროვა ( xrova )
German: Rudel (de) n
Greek: αγέλη (el) f ( agéli )
Hebrew: לַהֲקָה (he) f ( lahaqá )
Italian: muta (it) f
Japanese: 群れ (ja) ( むれ, mure )
Khmer: ហ្វូង (km) ( voung )
Korean: 군(群) (ko) ( gun ) , 무리 (ko) ( muri )
Macedonian: глутница f ( glutnica )
Malay: kawanan (ms)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: flokk (no)
Nynorsk: flokk m
Polish: stado (pl) n sfora (pl) f zgraja (pl) f
Portuguese: matilha (pt) f
Romanian: haită (ro) f
Russian: ста́я (ru) f ( stája ) , сво́ра (ru) f ( svóra )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: чо̏пор m
Latin: čȍpor (sh) m
Slovak: svorka f
Slovene: trop (sl) m krdelo (sl) n
Spanish: jauría (es) f manada (es) f chucherío m ( Central America )
Swedish: flock (sv) c
Tagalog: kawan
Turkish:
Ottoman Turkish: سوری ( sürü )
Ukrainian: згра́я (uk) f ( zhrája )
Vietnamese: bầy (vi)
Welsh: cnud f
Etymology 2
From Middle English pakken Middle Dutch packen ( “ to pack ” ) , Middle Low German packen ( “ to pack ” ) .
Verb
pack (third-person singular simple present packs present participle packing simple past and past participle packed
( physical ) ( transitive ) arrange compactly as in a pack
to pack goods in a box; to pack fish
1712 Joseph Addison , The Spectator 275 :strange materials wound up in that shape and texture, and packed together with wonderful art in the several cavities of the skull
c. 1591–1595 William Shakespeare , “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [ … ] (First Folio ), London: [ … ] Isaac Iaggard , and Ed[ ward] Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC [ Act IV, scene iii] :Where, for these many hundred years, the bonespacked
( transitive ) to pack a trunk; the play, or the audience, packs the theater
1935 George Goodchild , chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court :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.
2007 November 23, Claudia La Rocco, “Ballet and African Steps, Delivered at Warp Speed”, in The New York Times [2] The New York Times Company , →ISSN →OCLC the original on 1 November 2025 :The mix of ballet vocabulary, modern techniques and African steps is familiar, but the extent to which Mr. Rhoden packs — and overpacks — phrases, cultivates warp-speed delivery and hyperextends every possible hip jut and arabesque is, thank goodness, something special to Complexions.
( transitive ) 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.
( transitive ) 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 ) stow articles securely for transportation.( intransitive ) the goods pack conveniently; wet snow packs well
( intransitive , of animals) the grouse or the perch begin to pack
( transitive , historical ) telegraph messages ) in order to send them more cheaply as a single transmission .( transitive , computing ) compress (data).( social ) ( transitive , card games ) ( transitive ) to pack a jury
( transitive ) contrive unfairly or fraudulently; to plot.
1655 Thomas Fuller , “He lost life [ ] upon a nice point subtilely devised and packed by his enemies.”, in The Church-history of Britain; [ … ] , London: [ … ] Iohn Williams [ … ] →OCLC (please specify |book=I to XI) :( intransitive ) cahoots .
1598–1599 William Shakespeare , “Much Adoe about Nothing ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [ … ] (First Folio ), London: [ … ] Isaac Iaggard , and Ed[ ward] Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC [ Act V, scene i] :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.
( transitive ) load with a pack.
to pack a horse
( transitive , figurative ) encumber .
c. 1596–1599 William Shakespeare , “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, [ … ] . Epilogue .”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [ … ] (First Folio ), London: [ … ] Isaac Iaggard , and Ed[ ward] Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC [ Act IV, scene iii] :our thighs packed with wax, our mouths with honey
To move, send or carry.
( transitive ) peremptorily or suddenly; – sometimes with off. See pack off .
to pack a boy off to school
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 Ed[ ward] Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC [ Act I, scene i] :Till George be packed with post horse up to heaven.
( transitive , US , chiefly Western US ) ( intransitive ) off or away .
1723 Jonathan Swift , Stella at Wood-Park :Poor Stella must pack off to town.
1842 Alfred Tennyson , Dora :You shall pack , / And never more darken my doors again.
( transitive , slang ) packing heatA: What was he packing ? B: He was packing an M1911 with a custom large-capacity magazine.
( ambitransitive , progressive aspect, slang ) Wow, get a load of him — he's packing .
( intransitive , LGBTQ , especially of a trans man or drag king ) prosthetic penis , inside one’s trousers to appear more male or masculine .
1995 Bisexual Politics: Theories, Queries, and Visions [3] →ISBN page 181 :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.
( transitive , sports , slang ) ( intransitive , rugby , of the forwards in a rugby team) cohesively , specially with reference to technique in the scrum .
Synonyms
( To sort and arrange (the cards) in a pack so as to secure the game unfairly ) : stack
Antonyms
( antonym(s) of “ make into a pack ” ) : unpack
Derived terms
Translations
to put things together for storage or transporting
Arabic: وَضَّبَ ( waḍḍaba ) , حَزَمَ ( ḥazama )
Armenian: փաթեթավորել (hy) ( pʻatʻetʻavorel )
Belarusian: упако́ўваць impf ( upakówvacʹ ) , пакава́ць impf ( pakavácʹ ) , упакава́ць pf ( upakavácʹ ) , спако́ўваць impf ( spakówvacʹ ) , спакава́ць pf ( spakavácʹ )
Bulgarian: опако́вам (bg) impf or pf ( opakóvam )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 包裝 / 包装 (zh) ( bāozhuāng )
Dutch: inpakken (nl)
Finnish: pakata (fi)
French: emballer (fr)
German: packen (de) , einpacken (de) , verpacken (de)
Japanese: 詰める (ja) ( つめる, tsumeru ) , 包む (ja) ( つつむ, tsutsumu ) , 包装する (ja) ( ほうそうする, hōsō suru )
Korean: 싸다 (ko) ( ssada ) , 꾸리다 (ko) ( kkurida ) , 챙기다 (ko) ( chaenggida )
Latin: convāsō
Lithuanian: pakuoti
Māori: tāhere whakamātā
Polish: pakować (pl) impf spakować (pl) pf zapakowywać (pl) impf zapakować (pl) pf
Russian: упако́вывать (ru) impf ( upakóvyvatʹ ) , пакова́ть (ru) impf ( pakovátʹ ) , упакова́ть (ru) pf ( upakovátʹ )
Spanish: empacar (es)
Thai: ห่อ (th) ( hɔ̀ɔ )
Ukrainian: упако́вувати impf ( upakóvuvaty ) , пакува́ти impf ( pakuváty ) , упакува́ти pf ( upakuváty ) , спако́вувати impf ( spakóvuvaty ) , спакува́ти pf ( spakuváty )
Vietnamese: gói (vi)
to make a pack
Bulgarian: навъ́рзвам impf ( navắrzvam ) , навъ́ржа pf ( navắrža )
Catalan: fer (la maleta )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 包 (zh) ( bāo ) , 包裝 / 包装 (zh) ( bāozhuāng )
Czech: balit (cs)
Esperanto: paki
Finnish: pakata (fi)
French: emballer (fr)
German: packen (de) , verpacken (de) , einpacken (de)
Ido: enpakigar (io)
Irish: pacáil
Italian: impacchettare (it)
Japanese: 包む (ja) ( つつむ, tsutsumu )
Korean: 꾸리다 (ko) ( kkurida ) , 싸다 (ko) ( ssada )
Latvian: pakot (lv)
Manx: pagg
Norman: patchi
Portuguese: fazer (pt)
Russian: упако́вывать (ru) impf ( upakóvyvatʹ ) , упакова́ть (ru) pf ( upakovátʹ ) , запако́вывать (ru) impf ( zapakóvyvatʹ ) , запакова́ть (ru) pf ( zapakovátʹ )
Slovene: pakirati zaviti (sl)
Spanish: empaquetar (es)
Swedish: packa (sv)
Tagalog: magbalot balutin ibalot mag-impake impakihin magbasta bastain
Turkish: paketlemek (tr)
Volapük: päkön (vo)
to fill in the manner of a pack
Chinese
Etymology
Borrowed from English pack
Pronunciation
Classifier
pack
( Hong Kong Cantonese ) Classifier for packs ( bundles ) of objects.
Verb
pack
( Hong Kong Cantonese ) pack up
References
Bauer, Robert S. (2021 ), ABC Cantonese-English Comprehensive Dictionary , Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, →ISBN 788
French
Etymology
Borrowed from English pack
Pronunciation
Noun
pack m plural packs
pack pack ice ( sports ) rugby team
Further reading
Middle English
Noun
pack
alternative form of pak
Portuguese
pack de cervejabeer pack sense 1 )
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English pack
Pronunciation
Noun
pack m plural packs
a beverage pack 2026 September 14, Nelson Lima Neto, “Cerveja de graça: torcida do Flamengo já resgatou 70 mil packs de Brahma”, Ancelmo.com , in O Globo [4] the original on 14 September 2026 :Cada CPF pode realizar um resgate, com a opção de escolher entre um pack de Brahma, com 12 latas de 350 ml, ou dois packs 24 latas de 350ml de Brahma 0,0%. (please add an English translation of this quotation)
( colloquial , euphemistic ) A garota começou a vender packs para pagar as despesas. The girl started selling packs to pay her expenses.
Further reading
Scots
Adjective
pack
intimate ; confidential
Derived terms
Spanish
Alternative forms
p4ck ( filter-avoidance spelling )
Etymology
Borrowed from English pack
Pronunciation
Noun
pack m plural packs
pack package kit , set , bundle ( colloquial , euphemistic ) sexting photos
Further reading
Swedish
Noun
pack n
( derogatory ) scum , trash , (when related to low social class) dregs , riffraff , etc.
fotbollshuliganer och annat pack football hooligans and other scum stuff , things , luggage ; only used in pick och pack
Declension
Descendants
See also
References
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