Meanings
- derogatoryinformaluncountableThe behavior of a packrat; a tendency to collect miscellanea or bric-a-brac, often to excess.
But packrattery soon precluded any Williamsburgish consistency.
1977, Joseph Chamberlain Furnas, Stormy Weather: Crosslights on the Nineteen Thirties: An Informal Social History of the United States 1929–19413 more examples
Many stories were tape-recorded at family reunions through the years (we also are record keepers, given a little leeway for chaos and packrattery).
1999, Ina Dillard Russell, Roots and Ever Green: The Selected Letters of Ina Dillard RussellRemember the first principle of packrattery: Stuff will accumulate proportionate to the space and place made available for it.
2006, Don Aslett, Weekend Makeover: Take Your Home from Messy to Magnificent in Only 48 Hours!Most of our books are not on the floor, at least, but on one shelf I see “The Soul of a New Machine” next to “All the King’s Men” topped by “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Why? I have no idea. It’s packrattery, but I can usually lay my hands on the volumes I need.
2023 February 2, Rebecca Clarke, “Alex Prud’homme Wishes He Was in the Room Where It Happened”, in The New York Times
Origin
Cite this entry
packrattery. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/packrattery
“packrattery.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/packrattery. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “packrattery,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/packrattery.
Source: packrattery on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.