pack up

verb

1. to put (things) away in a proper or suitable place
2. informal.
   to give up (an attempt) or stop doing (something)

   if you don't do your work better, you might as well pack up

3. intr (of an engine, machine, etc) to fail to operate; break down
4. engineering to use packing to adjust the height of a component or machine before it is secured in its correct position or alignment

Example Sentences

Asylum seekers who had given the federal government their home addresses wondered whether they should pack up and move.

From Los Angeles Times

Wednesday, she ran to the nursery to try to pack up the baby’s essentials, such as clothing and medicine.

From Los Angeles Times

"Hey, let me pack up your stuff and you leave him. Yeah, I'll get you to a halfway house."

From Salon

Do members have to pack up and leave once they hit 35?

From Los Angeles Times

Haskins, who was claimed off waivers last Wednesday after two seasons with the Titans, arrived in L.A. the same afternoon he got the call, but flew right back to Nashville the next day to pack up his belongings.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• abandon
• depart
• desert
• discharge
• displace
• expel
• leave
• move out
• pull out
• remove
• vacate
• withdraw