pack off
verb
packed off; packing off; packs off
: to send (someone) away to a different place
—usually + to
Despite his protests, his mom packed him off to bed.
parents packing their kids off to college
Examples of pack off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
My aunt—and dozens of other relatives—were among the sixty-thousand people removed and packed off to live in areas far from the city center.
—
Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
His second child—Lucia’s baby, a girl named Ginevra—was removed from her mother’s care, briefly placed in a foundling hospital, and then packed off to a wet nurse in the countryside.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
In 2019, Izzy Cicirello was 13 and, like a lot of other middle schoolers, packed off to a summer day camp.
—Jesse Wright, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Literary Hub, 10 Dec. 2025
His second child—Lucia’s baby, a girl named Ginevra—was removed from her mother’s care, briefly placed in a foundling hospital, and then packed off to a wet nurse in the countryside.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
In 2019, Izzy Cicirello was 13 and, like a lot of other middle schoolers, packed off to a summer day camp.
—Jesse Wright, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pack off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pack%20off. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
