send someone packing

verb

"send-someone-packing" is a 18-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“send someone packing” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
20
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To expel, eject, or dismiss someone; to send away, chase off, or force out; (from a job or employment position) to fire.

Corpus desk

Index EN-send-someone-packing · send someone packing · English

send someone packing · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 20 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for send someone packing
PropertyValue
Headwordsend someone packing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters20
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “send someone packing” in English

send someone packingsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

send someone packing is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To expel, eject, or dismiss someone; to send away, chase off, or force out; (from a job or employment position) to fire.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for send someone packing, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is send someone packing, spelled S-E-N-D- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E- -P-A-C-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    To expel, eject, or dismiss someone; to send away, chase off, or force out; (from a job or employment position) to fire.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how send someone packing appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [T]he parliament, to their immortal honour, presently sent him packing.
  2. Two ladies called one day, pale and anxious, and begged earnestly, humbly, to be allowed to see Mr. Moore one instant: Mrs. Yorke hardened her heart, and sent them packing,—not without opprobrium.

Synonyms

hand someone his hatsend about one's business

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "send someone packing"?
"send someone packing" is spelled S-E-N-D- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E- -P-A-C-K-I-N-G.
What does "send someone packing" mean?
As a verb, "send someone packing" means: To expel, eject, or dismiss someone; to send away, chase off, or force out; (from a job or employment position) to fire.
What language does "send someone packing" come from?
"send someone packing" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list