1
: a tract or plot of land
a parcel of real estate
2
a
: a wrapped bundle : package
The parcel was shipped today.
b
: a unit of salable merchandise
a parcel in an auction
3
: a company, collection, or group of persons, animals, or things : lot
The whole story was a parcel of lies.
a parcel of giddy young kids—
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
parceled or parcelled; parceling or parcelling
ˈpär-s(ə-)liŋ 
1
: to divide into parts : distribute
—often used with out
2
: to make up into a parcel : wrap
3
: to cover (something, such as a rope) with strips of canvas or tape
Synonyms
Examples of parcel in a Sentence
Noun
a parcel of real estate
her absurd explanation for the collision was a parcel of lies
Recent Examples on the WebFrederick Melo, Twin Cities, 25 Mar. 2024
In 2007, Zhao established the Golden Triangle Economic Zone, which occupies a parcel of Laos across the Mekong River from the Thai town of Chiang Saen.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2024
Fire Station 2 currently consists of five buildings on a 2.28 acre parcel.
—Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
Consisting of two mansions and a vacant parcel resting in the exclusive Veromar neighborhood of Vero Beach, directly overlooking the Atlantic, the total asking price is a whopping $82 million.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 19 Mar. 2024
At the heart of the latest complaint are a pair parcels located on the city’s Agua Fria property, just east of El Mirage Road, in between Bethany Home and Glendale Avenue.
—Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
In a concrete jungle where few residents have yards, the tiny parcels offer New Yorkers a rare chance to dig into the soil, connect with nature and make something beautiful grow.
—Jane Margolies, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
In 2023, Cudahy began exploring ideas to utilize two parcels (about 0.36 acres) in the 4800 block of South Packard Avenue as a community and event space.
—Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
Plus, the parcels of Dutch water that are sold for houses remain limited in size, preventing the construction of taller floating buildings, like the Waterstudio apartments in Scandinavia.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Quanta Magazine, 28 Nov. 2023
According to Pam Fechter, city’s planning and economic development coordinator, the new owners are renovating the space and may be parceling the building off for multiple tenants.
—Jshortavon, cleveland, 23 July 2023
During an event like ArkFuture, perfect operation of a dam would take the total inflow, which comes in peaks and troughs, and parcel it out evenly.
—Christopher Cox Spencer Lowell, New York Times, 22 June 2023
Rumors began floating last fall that McCall, who has been at the helm of ITV since 2018, was considering selling off the conglomerate or potentially parceling some of it off.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 1 Mar. 2023
This week’s auction is part of an ambitious schedule by the Biden administration to parcel out ocean blocks for new wind farms to ring the nation’s coastlines.
—Jennifer Hiller, WSJ, 6 Dec. 2022
The information cloud is going to be there, and someone will parcel and claim it.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 31 Mar. 2013
Decisions that were made to parcel out PPEs based on population rather than community need also were scrutinized.
—Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 8 Dec. 2022
Typically in the last quarter of the year, cargo carriers from container lines to parcel operators bulk up their profits on strong demand.
—Paul Berger, WSJ, 18 Oct. 2022
Amy Dobson, Forbes, 6 Apr. 2021
While parcel demand for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday retail peaks was higher than expected, the threat of industrial action caused customers to divert holiday packages to other companies, Royal Mail said in a statement.
—Anthony Palazzo, Bloomberg.com, 29 Apr. 2020
Noun
Land near high-frequency transit accounts for just 2% of the region’s taxable parcels but generates more than 25% of the region’s property tax revenue, according to figures compiled by the Met Council.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 25 Mar. 2024
In 2007, Zhao established the Golden Triangle Economic Zone, which occupies a parcel of Laos across the Mekong River from the Thai town of Chiang Saen.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2024
Fire Station 2 currently consists of five buildings on a 2.28 acre parcel.
—Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
Consisting of two mansions and a vacant parcel resting in the exclusive Veromar neighborhood of Vero Beach, directly overlooking the Atlantic, the total asking price is a whopping $82 million.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 19 Mar. 2024
At the heart of the latest complaint are a pair parcels located on the city’s Agua Fria property, just east of El Mirage Road, in between Bethany Home and Glendale Avenue.
—Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
In a concrete jungle where few residents have yards, the tiny parcels offer New Yorkers a rare chance to dig into the soil, connect with nature and make something beautiful grow.
—Jane Margolies, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
In 2023, Cudahy began exploring ideas to utilize two parcels (about 0.36 acres) in the 4800 block of South Packard Avenue as a community and event space.
—Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
Plus, the parcels of Dutch water that are sold for houses remain limited in size, preventing the construction of taller floating buildings, like the Waterstudio apartments in Scandinavia.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
If that rain is parceled into a handful of giant drops, the variation in when those drops hit your roof will be high; sometimes drops will splatter back to back, and at other times they will be spaced out.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 Nov. 2023
According to Pam Fechter, city’s planning and economic development coordinator, the new owners are renovating the space and may be parceling the building off for multiple tenants.
—Jshortavon, cleveland, 23 July 2023
During an event like ArkFuture, perfect operation of a dam would take the total inflow, which comes in peaks and troughs, and parcel it out evenly.
—Christopher Cox Spencer Lowell, New York Times, 22 June 2023
Rumors began floating last fall that McCall, who has been at the helm of ITV since 2018, was considering selling off the conglomerate or potentially parceling some of it off.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 1 Mar. 2023
This week’s auction is part of an ambitious schedule by the Biden administration to parcel out ocean blocks for new wind farms to ring the nation’s coastlines.
—Jennifer Hiller, WSJ, 6 Dec. 2022
The information cloud is going to be there, and someone will parcel and claim it.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 31 Mar. 2013
Decisions that were made to parcel out PPEs based on population rather than community need also were scrutinized.
—Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 8 Dec. 2022
Typically in the last quarter of the year, cargo carriers from container lines to parcel operators bulk up their profits on strong demand.
—Paul Berger, WSJ, 18 Oct. 2022
Adjective
The current record, of $147 million, was for a multi-parcel purchase by investor Barry Rosenstein.
—Amy Dobson, Forbes, 6 Apr. 2021
While parcel demand for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday retail peaks was higher than expected, the threat of industrial action caused customers to divert holiday packages to other companies, Royal Mail said in a statement.
—Anthony Palazzo, Bloomberg.com, 29 Apr. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parcel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near parcel
Cite this Entry
“Parcel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parcel. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
parcel
2 of 2 verb
parceled or parcelled; parceling or parcelling
ˈpär-s(ə-)liŋ
1
: to divide into parts : distribute
2
: to wrap up into a parcel
Legal Definition
parcel
noun
par·cel
ˈpär-səl
: a tract or plot of land
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