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
The clamshell design and oversized durable zippers made packing easy, and the water-resistant fabric was dependable in harsher weather conditions.
—Donna Kim, Travel + Leisure, 4 June 2025
Packages with the logo of Amazon are transported at a packing station of a redistribution center of Amazon in Horn-Bad Meinberg, western Germany, on Dec. 9, 2024.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 2 June 2025
The same demographic shifts and healthcare needs are hitting the rest of the world, and other countries may open their doors to workers the U.S. sends packing.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2025
Items that cannot be reused will be repurposed into cleaning/painting rags or reused in insulation, packing material or carpeting, according to the city.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for packing
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Donna Kim, Travel + Leisure, 4 June 2025
Packages with the logo of Amazon are transported at a packing station of a redistribution center of Amazon in Horn-Bad Meinberg, western Germany, on Dec. 9, 2024.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 2 June 2025
The same demographic shifts and healthcare needs are hitting the rest of the world, and other countries may open their doors to workers the U.S. sends packing.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2025
Items that cannot be reused will be repurposed into cleaning/painting rags or reused in insulation, packing material or carpeting, according to the city.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for packing
Cite this Entry
“Packing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/packing. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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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