Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense unpacks, present participle unpacking, past tense, past participle unpacked
1. verb
When you unpack a suitcase, box, or similar container, or you unpack the things inside it, you take the things out of the container.
He unpacked his bag. [VERB noun]
Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. [VERB noun]
[Also VERB]
2. verb
If you unpack an idea or problem, you analyse it and consider it in detail.
Let's unpack this model a bit more and see just how "illogical" it really is. [VERB noun]
unpack in British English
(ʌnˈpæk)
verb
1.
to remove the packed contents of (a case, trunk, etc)
2. (transitive)
to take (something) out of a packed container
3. (transitive)
to remove a pack from; unload
to unpack a mule
4. (transitive)
to explain (a question, issue, etc) by analysing its component parts
Derived forms
unpacker (unˈpacker)
noun
unpack in American English
(ʌnˈpæk)
verb transitive
1.
to open and remove the packed contents of
2.
to take from a crate, trunk, etc.
3.
to remove a pack or load from
4.
to analyze and explain in detail
to unpack a complex idea
verb intransitive
5.
to remove the contents of a packed trunk, suitcase, etc.
6.
to admit of being unpacked
Examples of 'unpack' in a sentence
unpack
The women unpack the boxes and distribute the bars.
Christianity Today (2000)
Now it was time to unpack that box.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
On the floor in his bedroom is an unpacked suitcase.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
We have so much fun from the moment we unpack our bags to the time it is ready to go home again.
The Sun (2011)
But we've unpacked all the boxes now and done quite well!
The Sun (2016)
We unpacked our bags in a new country, and that became home.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
When she returned from her trips, she simply put the cases away without unpacking them.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
You've barely unpacked your holiday suitcase.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
They brought with them the Ashes and were convinced that they would return with the display case unpacked.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I had to unpack his boxes and sort it all out.
The Sun (2009)
I unpacked my sleeping bag and spread it on the metal floor at the back of the vehicle.
Oliver Poole BLACK KNIGHTS: On the Bloody Road to Baghdad (2003)
She often dropped her into the conversation and was particularly delighted by all the pictures she had found while she was unpacking boxes in the new house.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
I don't unpack my bag because something can always happen.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Early episodes of the series - which came to an end last night - mainly involved her unpacking boxes.
The Sun (2014)
For weeks he'd barely unpacked boxes from the move because he'd been on the road with the band.
The Sun (2012)
He says he sometimes feels as if he spends his life packing and unpacking bags, and trying not to wake his family up at 5am.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Five more weeks to wait for my postponed operation, so I have a dilemma about whether to unpack my overnight bag or not.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
unpack
British English: unpack /ʌnˈpæk/ VERB
When you unpack a suitcase, box, or bag, you take the things out of it.