1
: a tract or plot of land
a parcel of real estate
2
a
: 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
Mark Twain
parceled or parcelled; parceling or parcelling
ˈpär-s(ə-)liŋ 
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
Examples of parcel in a Sentence
Noun
a parcel of real estate
her absurd explanation for the collision was a parcel of lies
Verb
parceled out the assignments for work on the parish fair
Recent Examples on the Web
Brian Bell, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2025
Back when the parcel was acquired for development in the 1980s by the real-estate investor and abstract-art collector Ben Heller, neighboring property owners unsuccessfully sued to keep him from situating a house so close to the pond.
—Andrew Rice, Curbed, 26 June 2025
Sigal Samuel, Vox, 6 Jan. 2025
Clocking and the secondhand joy parcelled around an acknowledgement are an effect of that first commitment, to articulate one’s own grace.
—Sadhbh O'Sullivan, refinery29.com, 28 Feb. 2024
Amy Dobson, Forbes, 6 Apr. 2021
While parcel demand for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday retail peaks was higher than expected, the threat of industrial action caused customers to divert holiday packages to other companies, Royal Mail said in a statement.
—Anthony Palazzo, Bloomberg.com, 29 Apr. 2020
See All Example Sentences for parcel
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Noun
The entire parcel is about 100 acres, with the portion comprising the library and events center about one-fifth of that.
—Brian Bell, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2025
Back when the parcel was acquired for development in the 1980s by the real-estate investor and abstract-art collector Ben Heller, neighboring property owners unsuccessfully sued to keep him from situating a house so close to the pond.
—Andrew Rice, Curbed, 26 June 2025
Verb
Figures like Francis Bacon and Johannes Kepler looked at the innovation in bookkeeping and thought: This way of parceling the world into chunks of data that are quantifiable and verifiable is great.
—Sigal Samuel, Vox, 6 Jan. 2025
Clocking and the secondhand joy parcelled around an acknowledgement are an effect of that first commitment, to articulate one’s own grace.
—Sadhbh O'Sullivan, refinery29.com, 28 Feb. 2024
Adjective
The current record, of $147 million, was for a multi-parcel purchase by investor Barry Rosenstein.
—Amy Dobson, Forbes, 6 Apr. 2021
While parcel demand for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday retail peaks was higher than expected, the threat of industrial action caused customers to divert holiday packages to other companies, Royal Mail said in a statement.
—Anthony Palazzo, Bloomberg.com, 29 Apr. 2020
See All Example Sentences for parcel
Cite this Entry
“Parcel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parcel. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
parcel
2 of 2 verb
parceled or parcelled; parceling or parcelling
ˈpär-s(ə-)liŋ
1
: to divide into parts : distribute
2
: to wrap up into a parcel
Legal Definition
parcel
noun
par·cel
ˈpär-səl
: a tract or plot of land
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