parcel

noun

par·cel | \ ˈpär-səl

Definition of parcel

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : a tract or plot of land a parcel of real estate

2a : 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

4a : fragment, portion sold his stocks by parcels

b : a volume of a fluid (such as air) considered as a single entity within a greater volume of the same fluid

parcel

verb

parceled or parcelled; parceling or parcelling\ ˈpär-s(ə-)liŋ

Definition of parcel (Entry 2 of 4)

transitive verb

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

parcel

adjective

Definition of parcel (Entry 3 of 4)

: part-time, partial

parcel

adverb

Definition of parcel (Entry 4 of 4)

archaic

: partly

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about parcel

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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 Web: Noun

Developer: 'Nothing of environmental concern' Mesa is now considering annexing and rezoning a parcel of land just across from Lehi Crossing on Thomas Road. — Lily Altavena, azcentral, "Controversy in the air as Mesa homeowners decry neighboring asphalt plant’s odors," 11 July 2018 The business park project is 14 years in the making due to multiple parcel owners, including Milwaukee County, according to Faber. — Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Amazon has competition for Oak Creek parcel that could become fulfillment center in new business park," 10 July 2018 While the Postal Service loses money, its disclosures show that its parcel business with Amazon and other retailers are a net benefit. — Laura Stevens, WSJ, "Amazon Drives Deeper Into Package Delivery," 28 June 2018 There are dozens of express consignment stores in the tristate area that function like a private UPS, only for parcels from Ecuador. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "Rewind: What Guarding Uncle Sam's Borders Was Like in 1925," 11 Feb. 2019 One reason for the vertical design was that nine years ago, Tencent could buy only a small real-estate parcel in Shenzhen, which was running out of open urban land during its makeover from a small fishing village to China’s leading tech hub. — Dominique Fong And Shan Li, WSJ, "In the Office of Tomorrow, Tech Takes a Load Off—but Watch Out for Weight Gain," 22 Jan. 2019 Police said the drugs were in a parcel Hamp mailed to herself. — Yuri Kageyama, The Seattle Times, "As Ghosn heads for Nissan exit, Renault merger hopes fade," 21 Nov. 2018 After 20 minutes of bidding, Bertrand secured the farm, all except for a 10-acre parcel that was sold separately. — BostonGlobe.com, "With family grown apart, historic farm is in the middle," 13 July 2018 The boatyard, said Ginsburg, is in the center of a 900 Innes St. parcel bought by the city in 2014 for the project. — Leah Garchik, SFChronicle.com, "Natural promise at city’s southeastern corner," 25 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Unlike other tanks, Tigers were primarily assigned to independent heavy tank battalions of 45 tanks each that the high command parceled to help out in particularly tough battles. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Was the Famous German Tiger Tank Really That Great?," 20 Dec. 2018 The rival courts of England, Spain, France and Holland were perpetually at war with one another, and parceling up the riches of the New World became an extension of their Continental conflicts. — Rinker Buck, WSJ, "‘Black Flags, Blue Waters’ Review: To Live and Die a Pirate King," 26 Sep. 2018 Alexander Wang will put out part of a new collection in October, and parcel out additional drops in November, December, February and March. — Ray A. Smith, WSJ, "Designers Hope ‘Drops’ Make You Shop," 23 July 2018 The shape of the house is simple—just a rectangular volume—but it’s been cleverly parceled into an interesting flow of rooms and spaces, including a large outdoor patio that feels like an extension of the living room. — Liz Stinson, Curbed, "Modern prefab house was constructed in a month," 28 Aug. 2018 As in the Dead Space games, information about the crew and the events that led them to evacuate the Origin are parceled out in the form of recordings and computer data. — Samantha Nelson, The Verge, "YouTube’s tech-noir series Origin is Lost… in space," 14 Nov. 2018 In the late nineteenth century, many saw physical energy as a finite resource that had to be carefully parceled out, not a power that could be renewed through exercise. — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, "The Wheel, the Woman, and the Human Body," 6 July 2018 This week, the Madison-area Democrat will make his legislative push. introducing a bill in the House of Representatives to end ICE and set up a commission to parcel out essential enforcement duties to other agencies. — Bill Glauber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mark Pocan push to abolish ICE reverberates in Wisconsin U.S. Senate race," 9 July 2018 Rising indebtedness has been accompanied by looser lending standards, leading to a surge in high-risk lending, the central bank said, a large share of which is being parceled into securitized assets sold to investors world-wide. — Jason Douglas, WSJ, "BOE Warns of Growing Risks in Global Debt Markets," 27 June 2018

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