packaging

noun

1

: an act or instance of packaging something or someone: such as

a

: the enclosing of something in a container or covering

… damage caused by static charge during packaging, storing, and shipping.

—Chemical & Engineering News

b

: the presentation of something or someone to the public in a way that is designed to be attractive or appealing

This is public relations: the packaging of ideas, the execution of them, and the media coverage surrounding them.

—Robert Z. Chew

2

: material used to enclose or contain something

… the flashy packaging popularized by mass merchants.

—Jan Stafford

also : a covering wrapper or container : package entry 1 sense 3

the manufacture of food packagings

Examples of packaging in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After chips come off the high-end fabrication lines in the United States, much of the testing, packaging, and assembly will be done in lower-income countries, a system that keeps costs down but preserves production jobs at home. —Elizabeth Economy, Foreign Affairs, 14 Jan. 2025

Prices have grown for paper and corrugated cardboard used in packaging. —Juweek Adolphe, NPR, 14 Jan. 2025

The product is in 12-by- 24 clear bag bulk packaging. —John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025

All items come in charming packaging marked by bright hues and high-contrast graphics. —Stacia Datskovska, WWD, 13 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from gerund of package entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1875, in the meaning defined at sense 1