pack — OET · Shobdo

pack

noun

1 a pack of cigarettes:

packet, container, package, box, crate, carton, parcel.

2 he could climb two or three peaks a day carrying a 50-pound pack:

backpack, rucksack, knapsack, kitbag, duffel bag, bag, satchel, load, luggage.

3 a pack of wolves:

group, herd, troop.

4 a pack of youngsters who spent all their time together:

crowd, mob, group, band, troupe, party, set, club, clique, coterie, gang, rabble, horde, throng, huddle, multitude, mass, assembly, gathering, collection, host, contingent;

informal crew, bunch.

verb

1 she helped pack the hamper:

fill, fill up, put things in, load, stuff, cram.

2 it took only a few minutes to pack their belongings:

stow, put away, store, box up, crate;

put in a case/trunk.

3 the glasses were packed tightly in straw:

wrap (up), package, parcel, tie (up), swathe, swaddle, encase, enfold, envelop, cloak, bale, bundle, cover (up), protect.

4 Christmas shoppers packed the store:

throng, crowd (into), fill (to overflowing), cram full, mob, cram, jam, press into, squash into, squeeze into.

5 wet the cloth and pack it against the wall:

compress, press, squash, squeeze, jam, tamp, ram, thrust, force, wedge, crush, flatten.

□ pack something ininformal

1 one of the models has packed in her day job:

resign from, leave, give up, drop, abandon, renounce, relinquish;

informal quit, chuck, jack in.

2 he might have to pack in smoking:

give up, abstain from, drop, desist from, refrain from, steer clear of, give a wide berth to, reject, eschew, forswear, avoid, discontinue;

informal quit, leave off, kick;

archaic forsake.

□ pack someone off

informal

the best thing is to pack the kiddies off to Grandma:

send off, dispatch, dismiss, bundle off;

informal send packing.

□ pack upinformal

1 something electrical is bound to pack up over Christmas:

break down, stop working, cease to work/function, fail, give out, stall, come to a halt, develop a fault, malfunction, go wrong, break, act up, be defective/faulty, crash;

informal conk out, go kaput, go phut;

British, informal play up.

2 there's no point worrying—if you do, it's time to pack up:

stop, call it a day, break off, quit, desist, not continue, halt, finish, cease;

informal leave off, knock off, pack/jack it in.

□ pack something up

in the morning, she packed up her belongings:

put away, tidy up/away, clear up/away, store, stow.

pack (1) Oxford Dictionary of English