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
G. Terry Madonna and Michael YoungExamples of packing in a Sentence
We finished all our packing yesterday.
I used some old newspapers for packing.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adapters are near the top of most international travel packing lists, right below your passport and above underwear and comfortable shoes.
—Catherine Garcia, theweek, 4 Nov. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for packing 
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Catherine Garcia, theweek, 4 Nov. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for packing
Dictionary Entries Near packing
Cite this Entry
“Packing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/packing. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
packing
noun
pack·ing
ˈpak-iŋ 
1
: the therapeutic application of a pack
hemorrhage … could not be controlled by suture or packing—The Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association2
: the material used in packing
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