noun
- a small group or package of anything: a packet of letters.
- Also called packet boat, packet ship. a small vessel that carries mail, passengers, and goods regularly on a fixed route, especially on rivers or along coasts.
- Cards. a part of a pack of cards after being cut.
- Informal. a large amount of money.
- Digital Technology. a relatively small unit of data sent over a network:Every email you send and web page you browse is transferred to and from your device in a series of packets.
- British Slang.
- a painful blow or beating.
- misfortune or failure.
verb (used with object)
- to bind up in a package or parcel.
noun
- a small or medium-sized container of cardboard, paper, etc, often together with its contentsa packet of biscuits Usual US and Canadian word: package, pack
- a small package; parcel
- Also called: packet boat a boat that transports mail, passengers, goods, etc, on a fixed short route
- slang a large sum of moneyto cost a packet
- computing a unit into which a larger piece of data is broken down for more efficient transmissionSee also packet switching
verb
- (tr) to wrap up in a packet or as a packet
n.mid-15c., from Middle English pak “bundle” (see pack (n.)) + diminutive suffix -et; perhaps modeled on Anglo-French pacquet (Middle French pacquet), which ultimately is a diminutive of Middle Dutch pak. A packet boat (1640s) originally was one that carried mails. Packet-switching attested from 1971.