packing

noun

pack·ing | \ ˈpa-kiŋ

Definition of packing

1a : 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

The idea of wearing many light articles of clothing rather than a few heavy ones was everywhere: my brother’s Boys’ Life magazines, advertisements from my local outdoors store, my summer camp’s suggested packing list. — Rachel S. Gross, The Atlantic, "The Military Origins of Layering," 15 Sep. 2019 Here’s Jetsetter’s top 10 best packing tips; follow the link for more expert tips. — Jessica Yadegaran, The Mercury News, "Travel: Jetsetter’s 10 best packing tips, according to luggage experts," 9 Sep. 2019 Its tight packing of 14-metre-wide dishes covers wavelengths from 50–250 MHz. — Davide Castelvecchi, Scientific American, "The Quest to Unlock the Secrets of the Baby Universe," 26 Aug. 2019 So, on top of your sneakers, sunscreen, and clothing, add healthy snacks to your packing list. — Samantha Cassetty, NBC News, "The best healthy travel snacks, according to nutritionists and dietitians," 26 June 2019 The name comes from canning and packing plant that citrus magnate Dr. Philip Phillips built there in the 1930s. — Kate Santich, orlandosentinel.com, "1st residential project of Orlando’s Packing District near College Park about to break ground," 26 Aug. 2019 Another customer wanted a birthday rose for a maybe-more-than-a-friend at the almond-packing plant. — Diana Marcum, Los Angeles Times, "Gay shopkeeper stands his ground in a Central Valley town, carving out space for others," 20 Aug. 2019 Her dad, Mike (Martin Henderson), is outside packing. — Bill Goodykoontz, azcentral, "More kills in sequel 'The Strangers: Prey at Night'," 8 Mar. 2018 Jorg Dubin’s loosely realist painting depicts a pistol-packing, pink-hatted nude woman who refuses to be groped. — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, "In the galleries: At two Washington spaces, art of a political caliber," 16 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'packing.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.