- 1(especially British English) (usually North American English package) something that is wrapped in paper or put into a thick envelope so that it can be sent by mail, carried easily, or given as a present There's a parcel and some letters for you. She was carrying a parcel of books under her arm. The prisoners were allowed food parcels. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivelarge, little, small, … verb + parcelpost, send, deliver, … parcel + verbarrive, contain something parcel + noundelivery, tape, bomb, … prepositionin a/the parcel, parcel from, parcel to, … See full entry
- 2a piece of land 50 five-acre parcels have already been sold.
- 3 (especially British English) a small amount of food that is wrapped in something, usually pastry, before it is cooked filo pastry parcels cheese and spinach parcels Fold up the pastry to form a parcel. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveneat, baked, crispy, … parcel + verbbe stuffed with something See full entry Word Originlate Middle English (chiefly in the sense ‘small portion’): from Old French parcelle, from Latin particula ‘small part’.Extra examples He came in laden with parcels for the children. I sealed up the box with brown parcel tape. Place the fish on top, tucking any tail ends under to make neat parcels. She went to collect her parcel from the depot. The courier tried to deliver a parcel yesterday but I’d already left. The waiter had our left-over food made up into a parcel to take home. This morning a parcel arrived containing a signed copy of his new book. We left little parcels outside each person’s door. a parcel-delivery business a pastry parcel of brie and asparagus in a creamy sauce baked filo parcels stuffed with feta cheeseIdioms
an essential part of something Keeping the accounts is part and parcel of my job. More Like ThisAlliteration in idioms belt and braces, (beat somebody) black and blue, born and bred, chalk and cheese, chop and change, done and dusted, down and dirty, in dribs and drabs, eat somebody out of house and home, facts and figures, fast and furious, first and foremost, forgive and forget, hale and hearty, hem and haw, kith and kin, mix and match, part and parcel of something, puff and pant, go to rack and ruin, rant and rave, risk life and limb, short and sweet, signed and sealed, spic and span, through thick and thin, this and that, top and tail something, tried and tested/trusted, wax and waneSee worksheet.
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