An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pack up' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them.
This post is all about the phrasal verb 'pack up'. After writing such a long post about the phrasal verb 'get into' last week (link here), I decided to focus on a less common (although equally useful) phrasal verb with fewer meanings this week to give both you and I a break! In this post, I will explain the three different meanings of 'pack up' in English and provide you with lots of example sentences in context to aid your understanding. So, without further ado, let's make a start!
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PACK UP: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 3 |
Past tense forms | Packed up / Packed up |
Separable? | Sometimes |
MEANINGS (Click to jump to each one)
THE BASICS
To start things off, let's briefly examine the individual words 'pack' and 'up' and consider their individual meanings.
Our base verb is to pack', which is a regular verb that, in its purest form, is used in reference to filling empty spaces. Most commonly, it is used to talk about placing items into a suitcase or container to be transported to a different place or for storage. Unsurprisingly, it is one that is used by excited and happy holidaymakers as they are preparing for their vacations.
John packed his suitcase in preparation for his trip to New York.
I am going to Spain tomorrow and I haven't even started packing yet.
Susan packed the books into the box in order to take them to the second hand bookstore.
I am really bad at packing. I never seem to be able to fit all of my things into the bag.
Next, we have our favourite prepositional particle 'up', which I know you will all be very familiar with. 'Up' is often used in phrasal verb constructions to convey the idea of an upward movement, as well the concepts of increase (turn up), accumulation (stock up), completion (eat up), creation (make up) and ending (break up), among others.
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pack up'....
MEANING 1: To put things into a container
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To pack, to pack away, to clear up, to stow, to put away, to tidy up |
Separable? | Yes |
We'll start the different meanings of 'pack up' with the most commonly used of the three, which is to put things into a container, in order to transport them elsewhere.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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If you were paying attention in the Basics section, you may be thinking that this one is very similar to the meaning of the base verb 'to pack'. That is indeed correct, but whilst these can often be used interchangeably, there are some subtle differences between them, particularly in terms of the situations in which they are used.
Another thing that I mentioned in the Basics section was that one of the ideas that 'up' brings to a phrasal verb construction is the idea of completion and by adding 'up' to the verb 'to pack', it can convey the ideas of finality and permanence, i.e. that when you pack items up, you will be taking them away from the place and will not be bringing them back.
For this reason, it is far more common to hear native speakers talking about packing their suitcases for a holiday and not packing up their suitcase because a holiday is only temporary. On the other hand, if someone is moving home, then it is far more likely that they will say that they are packing up their possessions as this is usually a more permanent action.
Similarly, at the end of a working day, an office worker may pack his or her bag before leaving the office, however when they leave their job or if they get fired, then they will need to pack up their possessions as they will not be returning again.
Moreover, we would say 'pack up' rather than 'pack' when all of the items in a space or place are gathered and stored somewhere. This can also apply if the people were not permanently going away but were coming back another day, like market traders who need to remove all of their goods from the market overnight when they are not there.
On the last day of the exhibition, the exhibitors started packing up their stand in the afternoon.
After the meeting, we packed up our laptops and headed back to the office.
It started raining, so Adam and Lucy packed up the picnic and went home.
The street vendors began packing up their stalls as the market closed for the day.
Once the camping trip was over, we packed up our gear and drove back to the city.
He decided to pack up his belongings and move to a different state for a fresh start.
The musicians packed up their instruments after the concert and left the venue.
When the construction was finished, the workers packed up their tools and cleared the site.
You should note that it is possible to use 'pack up' to talk about both the items that are being collected and moved e.g. things, possessions, as well as for what they are being stored and transported in e.g. van, lorry, car.
Come on, let's finish packing up the car and go home.
MEANING 2: To stop working
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Mainly British English |
Potential synonyms | To break, to break down, to give out, to conk out, to malfunction, to fail |
Separable? | No |
The final two meanings of 'pack up' are largely British, informal ones, with the first of these being 'to stop working'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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As you can see from the list of commonly used nouns above, this application tends to be used most commonly with nouns for machines and appliances that we use regularly, typically in our homes or workplaces. Furthermore, these tend to be more complex in nature with lots of different components and parts that function together in unison.
My old car finally packed up on the way to the beach, leaving us stranded on the main road.
Tom's laptop packed up just before the project deadline, and he had to borrow one to finish it.
Our washing machine packed up last night, so now we need to call a repair technician.
After years of heavy use, Kelly's printer packed up and refused to print anything.
The air conditioning system packed up during the heatwave, making it unbearable in the office.
Although not a machine, one other complex system that this application of 'pack up' can be used with is the human body and this is specifically in reference to body parts that have stopped functioning properly. Most commonly, you tend to hear this with knees, lungs and legs. Note, that this is a highly informal usage.
Katy realised her knees were starting to pack up after years of running marathons.
After hours of heavy lifting, Roger's back finally packed up, and he had to sit down to rest.
From a grammatical perspective, this usage is intransitive and it has no direct object; it is not possible to say 'pack something up' to mean to make it break down or stop working when referring to a body part.
MEANING 3: To stop doing something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Mainly British English |
Potential synonyms | To give up, to pack in, to stop, to quit |
Separable? | Rarely |
Our third and final meaning of 'pack up' is one that is just as informal as the previous one and means 'to stop doing something', particularly when it is an activity that someone does regularly or a habit.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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I would say that the most common noun that I hear this application being used with is 'smoking', or something in reference to it, like 'cigarettes' or 'fags'. This is used as a more informal synonym of the highly common phrasal verb 'give up'.
It is also common to hear this used with the noun 'job' to mean to quit your job, normally in a sudden or unexpected manner.
Moreover, 'to pack up working', would be used to mean to stop working completely.
Aside from these two uses, we can use this for other verb actions that we do regularly, which we stop, such as running, swimming, yoga or playing a sport or a game.
On a grammatical note, when a verb action is specified, it needs to be in the gerund ('ing) form.
I packed up smoking when I was 21 and I have not touched one since.
Simon has decided to pack up his job as he is not happy there.
Mike had to pack up running after he got injured in a fall.
My mum says that she will never pack up pilates as it makes her feel young and healthy.
My Dad has packed up working and taken early retirement.
We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts.
Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'pack up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!!
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THE END
I've learnt things no teacher had ever taught me before! 😃