parcel
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A person consignment of cargo for shipment, regardless of size and form.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pahrsuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɑɹsəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An individual consignment of cargo for shipment, regardless of size and form.
An individual item appearing on an invoice or receipt (only in the phrase bill of parcels).
A package wrapped for shipment.
A wrapped container
A division of land bought and sold as a unit.
An indiscriminate or indefinite number, measure, or quantity; a collection; a group.
verb
To wrap something up into the form of a package.
To wrap a strip around the end of a rope.
To divide and distribute by parts or portions; often with off, out or into.
To add a parcel or item to; to itemize.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- General and technical use
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An individual consignment of cargo for shipment, regardless of size and form.
Used this way, parcel is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use parcel
- “The postman delivered a small parcel to our doorstep this morning.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A thin explosive device inside an envelope or package and detonated when opened.
An extended area of land.
Administer or bestow, as in small portions.
Postal service that handles packages.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to wrap something up into the form of a package
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.