package
1000
BrE to stop doing; used especially of something one finds
unpleasant, annoying etc: I decided to pack in my university
studies and get a job.
pack sbdy./sthg. off phr v [T(to)] infml to send away quickly,
especially to avoid trouble: She packed her son off to school.
pack up phr v 1 [I] infml to finish work: As business was
slack she packed up early. 2 [I] infml, especially BrE (of a
machine) to stop working: The engine's packed up! 3 [T] to
stop: He packed up his job after three months. 1 [+V-ing] She's
packed up smoking at long last.
pack-age¹ /'pækɪdʒ/ n [(of)] 1 an amount or especially a
number of things packed together firmly; a parcel: She sent
him a large package of books. 2 a set of related things sold
or offered as a unit: The union has negotiated a new package
of benefits with the management. | a new software package
package² v [T] 1 [UP] to make into or tie up as a package:
She packaged up the old clothes and put them in the cup-
board. 2 to place in a special package before selling: Those
chocolates have been packaged very attractively. —ager n
'package deal n infml an offer or agreement that includes a
number of things all of which must be accepted together
'package tour also 'package ,holiday n a completely
planned holiday arranged by a company at a fixed price,
which includes travel, hotels, meals etc → see also Feature
on page A22
L NOTE In the UK, package tours are very popular.
The STEREOTYPE of someone who goes on a package tour
is a tourist who wants to go to a beach in a foreign country
where the weather is hot, but still expects to speak English
and eat British food. Sometimes package tours do not
happen as they were planned, and people make jokes
about having to wait for a long time at the airport, or about
the fact that their hotel was only half built. In the US, people
do not go on package tours as often as people in the UK.
They are usually bought by older couples or by large
organized groups, such as the students of a particular
class or the employees of a particular office. US package
tours often visit several different places as part of the trip,
for example a ten-day tour stopping in six European cities.
US tourists also tend to buy package tours for special trips
or events, such as a CRUISE to Alaska or a family vacation
to Disneyland or the Olympics.
pack-ag-ing /'pækɪdʒɪ/ n [U] material used for packing
products: Complicated packaging increases the price of food.
'pack ,animal n an animal, such as a horse (packhorse), used
for carrying things on its back
packed /pækt/ adj (of a room, building etc) full of people;
CROWDED: a packed theatre
,packed 'lunch n a cold midday meal of sandwiches (SAND-
WICH), fruit, sweets or other things, packed into a box or
parcel and taken with you in the morning to be eaten later.
Packed lunches are often given to school children, or people
staying at a hotel who are going out on a full day trip.
,packed-'out adj [F] infml, especially BrE (of a room, building etc)
completely full of people
pack-er /'pækər/ n a person who packs, such as a) a person
who works where food is put into tins etc, for preserving b)
a person employed to pack the furniture, clothing etc, of
people moving from one house to another
pack-et /'pækɪt/ n 1 [(of)] also pack especially AmE — a small
parcel; a number of things tied or put together into a small
container: a packet of envelopes/cigarettes/sugar
USAGE Both pack and packet are used in AmE; packets
are usually smaller than packs: a packet of seeds | a
packet of sugar (containing one serving); a pack of
cigarettes
2 [C usually sing.] slang a large amount of money: That car cost
me a packet. 3 also 'packet boat a boat that carries mail and
usually passengers at regular times between places 4 catch/
cop/get/stop a packet BrE slang to get into serious trouble or
receive a heavy punishment
,packet of 'three n BrE infml a small packet containing three
CONDOMS
'packet-,switching n [U] a method of sending DATA (=infor-
mation stored on a computer) on telephone lines that breaks
long messages into pieces (packets) and puts them together
again when they are received. It is faster than older meth-
ods, and allows many users on a network at the same time.
'pack ice n [U] sea ice crushed together into a large floating
mass
pack-ing /'pækɪŋ/ n [U] 1 the act of putting things in cases
or boxes: I'll do my packing the night before we leave. 2 pro-
tective material for packing things: The price of the books
includes postage and packing.
'packing case n a large strong wooden box in which heavy
articles are packed to be sent elsewhere
'pack rat n 1 a large RAT which collects and stores various
things, carrying them in its fat cheeks 2 AmE someone who
collects and stores things for a long time, especially
unneeded things
pact /pækt/ n a solemn agreement, especially between oppos-
ing groups or nations: The opposition parties made an elec-
toral pact. (=agreed to work together in the election) | [+to-v]
a pact between the management and the union leaders to
restrict salary increases → compare CONVENTION, TREATY
Pac 10, Pac Ten /,pæk 'ten/ also Pacific Ten a group of
ten university sports teams from the western part of the US
who play against each other
pad¹ /pæd/ n 1 anything made of or filled with soft material
to protect something or make it more comfortable, or to fill
out a shape: Put a clean pad of cotton over the wound. → see
also SHOULDER PAD 2 a number of sheets of paper fastened
together, used for writing letters, drawing pictures etc: a
writing pad 3 a piece of material made wet with ink for
pressing onto a marker; INKPAD 4 the usually thick-skinned
fleshy underpart of the foot of some four-footed animals:
The dog had a thorn in its pad. 5 tech the large floating leaf of
certain water plants such as the WATER LILY 6 a LAUNCH
PAD 7 AmE a SANITARY TOWEL 8 rather old-fash slang one's house
or flat: I'm going over to his pad this evening.
pad² v -dd- [T] 1 to protect, shape, or make more comfortable
by covering or filling with soft material. In cricket, batsmen
(BATSMAN) wear special pads to protect their legs: a coat with
padded shoulders | a padded cell (=room with soft walls) in a
psychiatric hospital 2 [OUT] to make (a sentence, speech etc)
longer by adding unnecessary words: a speech padded (out)
with amusing anecdotes
pad³ v -dd- [+adv/prep] to walk steadily and usually softly,
with the foot flat on the ground: John's dog padded patiently
along beside him as he walked. | The little boy padded down
the hall to his parents' bedroom.
pad-ding /'pædɪŋ/ n [U] material used to PAD something: the
padding in my coat/in your speech
Pad-ding-ton /'pædɪŋtən/ a railway station in the western
part of central London, from which trains go to the west
and southwest of England and to South Wales
Paddington 'Bear also
Paddington the main
character in children's stories
by the British writer Michael
Bond. Paddington is a TEDDY
BEAR from Peru who gets
lost at PADDINGTON Station
in London, and goes to live
with an English family.
Around his neck he wears a
LABEL with the words 'Please
take care of this bear'. He
eats MARMALADE sand-
wiches.
Paddington Bear
,Paddington 'train crash, the a train accident that took
place in October 1999 when two trains crashed into each
other near Paddington Station in west London. 31 people
were killed and many others were injured. The accident was
caused by one of the trains going through a red light. An
official report on the accident criticized Railtrack, the com-
pany responsible for looking after the rails and signals. It
said that they had been warned about signals that were not
working properly and had not done anything about it.
pad-dle¹ /'pædl/ n 1 [C] a short pole with a wide flat blade at
one end or (if a double paddle) at both ends, used for
moving a small boat (especially a CANOE) along. It is used