packing

noun

pack·​ing ˈpa-kiŋ How to pronounce packing (audio)
1
a
: the action or process of packing something
also : a method of packing
b
: the processing of food and especially meat for future sale
2
: material (such as a covering or stuffing) used to protect packed goods (as for shipping)
also : material used for making airtight or watertight
packing for a faucet
3
US politics : a form of gerrymandering in which election districts are drawn in such a way that voters likely to support the opposing party are concentrated into a single district to limit the influence of their votes in other districts
… it calculates the impact of the two mechanisms that create gerrymandering. The first of these is "packing," which means one side's votes have been overconcentrated so they win by huge margins in a small number of districts (creating a surplus of votes).G. Terry Madonna and Michael Young
compare cracking sense 2

Examples of packing in a Sentence

We finished all our packing yesterday. I used some old newspapers for packing.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
First-time cruisers can make lots of rookie mistakes, from packing way too much stuff to timing their travel into the port city all wrong. Terri Peters, Southern Living, 2 Nov. 2024 Dropbox lays off 20% of workforce More than 500 people were sent packing at cloud storage provider Dropbox this week as the San Francisco company transitions to…well, perhaps not greatness, but certainly discipline. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 31 Oct. 2024 The tree came in a classic brown packing box and did not include a bag or anything to store it in for the future. Kristi Kellogg, Architectural Digest, 23 Oct. 2024 And just as getting stopped for a speeding ticket makes your commute a whole lot longer, breaking your zipper is going to add more to your packing time. Joe Jackson, Outside Online, 17 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for packing 

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of packing was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near packing

Cite this Entry

“Packing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/packing. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

packing

noun
pack·​ing ˈpak-iŋ How to pronounce packing (audio)
1
: the therapeutic application of a pack
hemorrhage … could not be controlled by suture or packingThe Journal of the American Medical Association
2
: the material used in packing
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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