underpack

present singular third person underpacks · participle present underpacking · participle past underpacked · past underpacked

1. intransitiveTo pack too little.

   Instead, empty bags were folded diligently into the corners of underpacked suitcases, waiting to be jammed full with the familiar objects of home.

   2001 March 25, Eve Schaenen, “Changing Face Of Home”, in The New York Times

   3 more examples

   In spite of its subject, imminent death, Mr. Turturro said: "This was fun. I was curious to see if you could find the right tone for something like that. It was a very elusive thing, because you couldn't underpack it or overpack it. When you're doing it, you can't think about whether or not it's going to be funny, though somewhere in the back of your brain you know it could be."

   2000 October 6, Dave Kehr, “AT THE MOVIES; Burstyn Past And Present”, in The New York Times

   For those who don't care to have their belongings publicly displayed, the security administration also suggests underpacking, so as to avoid spilling the bag's contents upon opening, and storing personal items in clear plastic bags to allow screeners to see what you have without needing to open toilet kits and the like.

   2002 December 8, Martha Stevenson Olson, “PRACTICAL TRAVELER; If the Holidays Aren't at Home”, in The New York Times

   I’m a firm believer in packing at the last moment, because the more you wait, the less you bring — and no one ever complains about underpacking.

   2010 May 6, In Transit Editors, “How Do You Pack for Vacation?”, in The New York Times

   Antonyms: overpack

2. To pack beneath something.

   A trench was dug round the front of the engine to provide the necessary working clearance and the trailing radial wheels, which had remained at ground level, were underpacked with short lengths of rail laid sideways on a sleeper foundation.

   1955 March, “Rerailing a Pacific near Hitchin”, in Railway Magazine, page 183