packing

noun

pack·​ing ˈpa-kiŋ 

1

a

: 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

There are some items that are staples of any cruise vacation packing lists, from sunscreen to swimsuits to a passport. —Nathan Diller, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025

Compression packing cubes, in particular, are critical for saving space and flattening clothes as much as possible. —Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2025

Picking and packing, cutting and assembling, painting and palletizing, etc. —Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025

TravelWise Packing Cube Set, $18 with Prime Space-saving packing cubes are my number-one travel hack for keeping my belongings organized and creating more space — and this five-piece set is going for just $18. —Nicol Natale, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing packing

• court packing
• packing crate
• packing peanuts
• packing them in
• send packing

Rhymes for packing

• backing
• blacking
• clacking
• cracking
• hacking
• jacking
• lacking
• racking
• sacking
• slacking
• smacking
• snacking

Medical Definition

packing

noun

pack·​ing ˈpak-iŋ 

1

: the therapeutic application of a pack

hemorrhage … could not be controlled by suture or packing

—The Journal of the American Medical Association

2

: the material used in packing