Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To remove the contents of (a suitcase, for example).
  • intransitive verb To remove from a container, from packaging, or from packing.
  • intransitive verb To remove a pack from (a pack animal).
  • intransitive verb To elucidate or interpret (the meanings implicit in an utterance or text, for example).
  • intransitive verb To unpack objects from a container.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To open, as things packed: as, to unpack goods.
  • To relieve of a pack or burden; unload; disburden.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To separate and remove, as things packed; to open and remove the contents of.
  • transitive verb rare To relieve of a pack or burden.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To remove from a package or container, particularly with respect to items that had previously been arranged closely and securely in a pack.
  • verb intransitive To empty containers that had been packed.
  • verb transitive To analyze a concept or a text.
  • verb linguistics To undergo separation of its features into distinct segments.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb remove from its packing

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

un- +‎ pack

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word unpack.

Examples

  • The default stub calls unpack (), you see, and PHP 6 needs to be told that the second argument to unpack () is a binary string and not a Unicode string.

    AvaxHome RSS: 2008

  • Dismantling Brown's district would have the side effect, of course, of allowing Democrats to "unpack" the district, taking its many Democratic voters and spreading them around nearby districts, creating three or four Democratic-leaning districts where there is currently just one solidly Democratic district.

    'Fairness' in Florida and how it could help Democrats Aaron Blake 2011

  • "In order to give Democrats their fair share of seats, you'd have to 'unpack' urban Democratic neighborhoods by drawing long, narrow districts that start in the urban core and extend into the outer suburbs and rural periphery," says Dr. Chen, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan.

    Redistricting Hype Blurs Reality Carl Bialik 2010

  • When the French arrive at a new location, one of the first things they "unpack" are the "boules": "de-ball-er".

    French Word-A-Day: 2007

  • When the French arrive at a new location, one of the first things they "unpack" are the "boules": "de-ball-er".

    French Word-A-Day: 2007

  • When the French arrive at a new location, one of the first things they "unpack" are the "boules": "de-ball-er".

    déballer - French Word-A-Day 2007

  • To "unpack" means to put the statement or term or whatever is being unpacked in a more tangible context - often in the form of real life examples.

    Philocrites: Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright. 2008

  • Dudley, I have no idea how the term "unpack" came to mean "to elaborate," but that's what I think most people mean when they says that they're "unpacking" a statement.

    Philocrites: Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright. 2008

  • Some said set up a Resolution Trust Corporation to "unpack" the baskets piece by piece and put the mortgages back together like a giant puzzle.

    Randi Rhodes: Banks Rob People Twice 2008

  • And that possibility just presents a whole other box to "unpack," doesn't it?

    Race as disability Kay Olson 2007

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • This is a Tavis Smiley staple in trade. "Before we unpack that, how did you feel about...". You'd think he'd resort to some synonyms for variety.

    May 13, 2008