packaging

noun

1

: an act or instance of packaging something or someone: such as

a

: the enclosing of something in a container or covering

… damage caused by static charge during packaging, storing, and shipping.

—Chemical & Engineering News

b

: the presentation of something or someone to the public in a way that is designed to be attractive or appealing

This is public relations: the packaging of ideas, the execution of them, and the media coverage surrounding them.

—Robert Z. Chew

2

: material used to enclose or contain something

… the flashy packaging popularized by mass merchants.

—Jan Stafford

also : a covering wrapper or container : package entry 1 sense 3

the manufacture of food packagings

Examples of packaging in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Keep another nearby during family gift time to handle tough packaging without the struggle. —Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Dec. 2025

Cygnet’s sustainability isn’t limited to packaging. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 5 Dec. 2025

Meanwhile, over at MIT, researchers developed Velcro-like food sensors (also made with microneedles) designed to attach to plastic food packaging and detect signs of contamination. —Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2025

For years, according to Jeff Edwards, founder and CEO of Energy Control Systems, operational teams across manufacturing, packaging, and processing environments have viewed stoppages as an unavoidable cost of doing business. —Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from gerund of package entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1875, in the meaning defined at sense 1