packing

packing

English

Etymology

From Middle English pakkyng; equivalent to pack (“verb and noun senses”) +‎ -ing.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpakɪŋ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpækɪŋ/
• Rhymes: -ækɪŋ

Verb

packing

1. present participle of pack

Derived terms

• send someone packing

Noun

packing (plural packings)

1. The action of the verb.
   1. The action of putting things together, especially of putting clothes into a suitcase for a journey.
   2. (sciences, mathematics) The spatial arrangement of objects, items or constituent parts.
   3. The gathering of birds, animals etc. into a pack.
   4. (rugby) The forming of players into a scrum.
2. As a concrete noun.
   1. Material used to fill in the space around something, especially to make a piston etc. watertight or airtight.
   2. Material used to wrap a product for sale etc.; packaging.
   3. A fee charged to cover the costs of packaging.
   4. Special material used to fill containers or vessels for certain chemically related applications.

• Examples: Packing in a packed bed, or a column such as a distillation column or a chromatography column

Derived terms

• packing case