pack up

phrasal verb

packed up; packing up; packs up

1

: to gather one's belongings together and put them in a suitcase or other container for traveling

He packed up and left town.

2

British, informal : to stop or quit

She packs up when things become difficult.

3

British, informal : to stop working properly

The lift has packed up, so you'll have to take the stairs to her flat.

Examples of pack up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With the farm suddenly unsustainable, there’s nothing for it but to pack up and seek work in Pristina, where Hatixhe’s sister Lina (Fiona Gllavica) lives a comfortable nouveau riche life in a large, gleaming new-build home courtesy of her entrepreneur husband Alban (Alban Ukaj). —Guy Lodge, Variety, 31 Jan. 2026

Adam Miller is packing up his saddle bags and riding into Golden. —Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2026

The families living there would have to simply pack up and find somewhere else to go. —Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

Living in a grand house overlooking Hyde Park, Katherine packed up Scoresby’s belongings, sent them to a warehouse, changed the locks, and left for Syria and Palestine. —Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for pack up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup