Pack vs. Stack — What's the Difference?

A collection of items tied up or wrapped; a bundle.

An orderly pile, especially one arranged in layers

A container made to be carried on the body of a person or animal.

A large, usually conical pile of straw or fodder arranged for outdoor storage.

The amount, as of food, that is processed and packaged at one time or in one season.

(Computers) A section of memory and its associated registers used for temporary storage of information in which the item most recently stored is the first to be retrieved.

A small package containing a standard number of identical or similar items

A group of three rifles supporting each other, butt downward and forming a cone.

A complete set of related items

A chimney or flue.

(Informal) A large amount; a heap

A group of chimneys arranged together.

A group of animals, such as dogs or wolves, that run and hunt together.

A vertical exhaust pipe, as on a ship or locomotive.

A gang of people

An extensive arrangement of bookshelves.

An organized troop having common interests

The area of a library in which most of the books are shelved.

A mass of large pieces of floating ice driven together.

A stackup.

Material, such as towels, sheets, or blankets that are used to swathe a patient or body part.

An English measure of coal or cut wood, equal to 108 cubic feet (3.06 cubic meters).

A material, such as gauze, that is therapeutically inserted into a body cavity or wound.

(Informal) A large quantity

An ice pack used to reduce pain and inflammation.

To arrange in a stack; pile.

A cold pack.

To load or cover with stacks or piles

A hot pack.

(Games) To prearrange the order of (a deck of cards) so as to increase the chance of winning.

A cosmetic paste that is applied to the skin, allowed to dry, and then rinsed off.

To prearrange or fix unfairly so as to favor a particular outcome

Variant of pac.

To direct (aircraft) to circle at different altitudes while waiting to land.

To fold, roll, or combine into a bundle; wrap up.

To form a stack

To put into a receptacle for transporting or storing

(heading) A pile.

To fill up with items

A large pile of hay, grain, straw, or the like, larger at the bottom than the top, sometimes covered with thatch.

To process and put into containers in order to preserve, transport, or sell

A pile of similar objects, each directly on top of the last.

To bring together (persons or things) closely; crowd together

(UK) A pile of poles or wood, indefinite in quantity.

To fill up tight; cram.

A pile of wood containing 108 cubic feet. (~3 m³)

To wrap (a patient) in a pack.

An extensive collection

To insert a pack into (a body cavity or wound).

A smokestack.

To wrap tightly for protection or to prevent leakage

(heading) In computing.

To press together; compact firmly

(programming) A linear data structure in which items inserted are removed in reverse order (the last item inserted is the first one to be removed).

(Informal) To carry, deliver, or have available for action

A stack data structure stored in main memory that is manipulated during machine language procedure call related instructions.

To send unceremoniously

An implementation of a protocol suite (set of protocols forming a layered architecture).

To constitute (a voting panel) by appointment, selection, or arrangement in such a way that it is favorable to one's purposes or point of view; rig

A combination of interdependent, yet individually replaceable, software components or technologies used together on a system.

To place one's belongings in boxes or luggage for transporting or storing.

(math) A generalization of schemes in algebraic geometry and of sheaves.

To be susceptible of compact storage

(geology) A coastal landform, consisting of a large vertical column of rock in the sea.

To form lumps or masses; become compacted.

(library) Compactly spaced bookshelves used to house large collections of books.

A bundle made up and prepared to be carried; especially, a bundle to be carried on the back, but also a load for an animal, a bale.

(figuratively) A large amount of an object.

A number or quantity equal to the contents of a pack

(military) A pile of rifles or muskets in a cone shape.

A multitude.

(poker) The amount of money a player has on the table.

A number or quantity of connected or similar things; a collective.

(heading) In architecture.

A full set of playing cards

A number of flues embodied in one structure, rising above the roof.

The assortment of playing cards used in a particular game.

A vertical drainpipe.

A group of hounds or dogs, hunting or kept together.

A fall or crash, a prang.

A wolfpack: a number of wolves, hunting together.

(bodybuilding) A blend of various dietary supplements or anabolic steroids with supposed synergistic benefits.

A flock of knots.

(aviation) A holding pattern, with aircraft circling one above the other as they wait to land.

A group of people associated or leagued in a bad design or practice; a gang.

(video games) The quantity of a given item which fills up an inventory slot or bag.

A group of Cub Scouts.

(transitive) To arrange in a stack, or to add to an existing stack.

A shook of cask staves.

To arrange the cards in a deck in a particular manner.

A bundle of sheet iron plates for rolling simultaneously.

To take all the money another player currently has on the table.

A large area of floating pieces of ice driven together more or less closely.

(transitive) To deliberately distort the composition of (an assembly, committee, etc.).

(medicine) An envelope, or wrapping, of sheets used in hydropathic practice, called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the method of treatment.

To crash; to fall.

(slang) A loose, lewd, or worthless person. en

(gaming) To operate cumulatively.

A tight group of object balls in cue sports. Usually the reds in snooker.

To place (aircraft) into a holding pattern.

(rugby) The forwards in a rugby team (eight in Rugby Union, six in Rugby League) who with the opposing pack constitute the scrum.

To collect precious metal in the form of various small objects such as coins and bars.

(roller derby) The largest group of blockers from both teams skating in close proximity.

(printing) To have excessive ink transfer.

(physical) To put or bring things together in a limited or confined space, especially for storage or transport.

A large and to some degree orderly pile of hay, grain, straw, or the like, usually of a nearly conical form, but sometimes rectangular or oblong, contracted at the top to a point or ridge, and sometimes covered with thatch.

(transitive) To make a pack of; to arrange closely and securely in a pack; hence, to place and arrange compactly as in a pack

An orderly pile of any type of object, indefinite in quantity; - used especially of piles of wood. A stack is usually more orderly than a pile

(transitive) To fill in the manner of a pack, that is, compactly and securely, as for transportation; hence, to fill closely or to repletion; to stow away within; to cause to be full; to crowd into.

A pile of wood containing 108 cubic feet.

(transitive) To wrap in a wet or dry sheet, within numerous coverings.

A large quantity; as, a stack of cash.

(transitive) To make impervious, such as by filling or surrounding with suitable material, or to fit or adjust so as to move without allowing air, water, or steam inside.

A number of flues embodied in one structure, rising above the roof.

(intransitive) To make up packs, bales, or bundles; to stow articles securely for transportation.

A section of memory in a computer used for temporary storage of data, in which the last datum stored is the first retrieved.

(intransitive) To form a compact mass, especially in order for transportation.

The section of a library containing shelves which hold books less frequently requested.

To gather together in flocks, herds, schools or similar groups of animals.

To lay in a conical or other pile; to make into a large pile; as, to stack hay, cornstalks, or grain; to stack or place wood.

To combine (telegraph messages) in order to send them more cheaply as a single transmission.

To place in a vertical arrangement so that each item in a pile is resting on top of another item in the pile, except for the bottom item; as, to stack the papers neatly on the desk; to stack the bricks.

(social) To cheat.

To select or arrange dishonestly so as to achieve an unfair advantage; as, to stack a deck of cards; to stack a jury with persons prejudiced against the defendant.

To sort and arrange (the cards) in the pack to give oneself an unfair advantage

An orderly pile

(transitive) To bring together or make up unfairly, in order to secure a certain result.

(often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent;

(transitive) To contrive unfairly or fraudulently; to plot.

A list in which the next item to be removed is the item most recently stored (LIFO)

(intransitive) To put together for morally wrong purposes; to join in cahoots.

A large tall chimney through which combustion gases and smoke can be evacuated

(transitive) To load with a pack

A storage device that handles data so that the next item to be retrieved is the item most recently stored (LIFO)

To load; to encumber.

Load or cover with stacks;

To move, send or carry.

Arrange in stacks;

(transitive) To cause to go; to send away with baggage or belongings; especially, to send away peremptorily or suddenly; – sometimes with off. See pack off.

Arrange the order of so as to increase one's winning chances;

To transport in a pack, or in the manner of a pack (on the backs of men or animals).

(intransitive) To depart in haste; – generally with off or away.

To carry weapons, especially firearms, on one's person.

To block a shot, especially in basketball.

To play together cohesively, specially with reference to their technique in the scrum.

To wear an object, such as a prosthetic penis, inside one’s trousers to appear more male or masculine.

A pact.

A bundle made up and prepared to be carried; especially, a bundle to be carried on the back; a load for an animal; a bale, as of goods.

A number or quantity equal to the contents of a pack; hence, a multitude; a burden.

A group or quantity of connected or similar things; as, a pack of lies

A large area of floating pieces of ice driven together more or less closely.

An envelope, or wrapping, of sheets used in hydropathic practice, called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the method of treatment.

A loose, lewd, or worthless person. See Baggage.

In hydropathic practice, a wrapping of blankets or sheets called dry pack, wet pack, cold pack, etc., according to the condition of the blankets or sheets used, put about a patient to give him treatment; also, the fact or condition of being so treated.

The forwards who compose one half of the scrummage; also, the scrummage.

To make a pack of; to arrange closely and securely in a pack; hence, to place and arrange compactly as in a pack; to press into close order or narrow compass; as, to pack goods in a box; to pack fish.

To fill in the manner of a pack, that is, compactly and securely, as for transportation; hence, to fill closely or to repletion; to stow away within; to cause to be full; to crowd into; as, to pack a trunk; the play, or the audience, packs the theater.

To shuffle, sort and arrange (the cards) in a pack so as to secure the game unfairly; to stack{3} (the deck).

To bring together or make up unfairly and fraudulently, in order to secure a certain result; to stack{3}; as, to pack a jury or a caucus.

To contrive unfairly or fraudulently; to plot.

To load with a pack; hence, to load; to encumber; as, to pack a horse.

To cause to go; to send away with baggage or belongings; esp., to send away peremptorily or suddenly; to send packing; - sometimes with off; as, to pack a boy off to school.

To transport in a pack, or in the manner of a pack (i. e., on the backs of men or beasts).

To render impervious, as by filling or surrounding with suitable material, or to fit or adjust so as to move without giving passage to air, water, or steam; as, to pack a joint; to pack the piston of a steam engine.

To cover, envelop, or protect tightly with something;

To make up packs, bales, or bundles; to stow articles securely for transportation.

To admit of stowage, or of making up for transportation or storage; to become compressed or to settle together, so as to form a compact mass; as, the goods pack conveniently; wet snow packs well.

To gather in flocks or schools; as, the grouse or the perch begin to pack.

To depart in haste; - generally with off or away.

To unite in bad measures; to confederate for ill purposes; to join in collusion.

A large indefinite number;

A complete collection of similar things

A small parcel (as of cigarettes or film)

An association of criminals;

An exclusive circle of people with a common purpose

A group of hunting animals

A cream that cleanses and tones the skin

A sheet or blanket (either dry or wet) to wrap around the body for its therapeutic effect

A bundle (especially one carried on the back)

Arrange in a container;

Fill to capacity;

Compress into a wad;

Carry, as on one's back;

Set up a committee or legislative body with one's own supporters so as to influence the outcome;

Have with oneself; have on one's person;

Press tightly together or cram;

Hike with a backpack;

Press down tightly;

Seal with packing;

Have the property of being packable or compactable or of compacting easily;

Load with a pack

Treat the body or any part of it by wrapping it, as with blankets or sheets, and applying compresses to it, or stuffing it to provide cover, containment, or therapy, or to absorb blood;