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to pack heat

to pack heat

7 9.9
To carry a gun on your body for protection
  • phrasal verb
  • /pæk hiːt/
  • NSFW
translation icon : llevar un arma
  • Uh, I know they're packing heat and they might use it.

Wow, Dave, you're just packing heat in them jeans, Brett.

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Examples

  • I'm wanted bad, packing heat.

  • So I see one of them was packing heat.

  • TPM reports that two House members are going to pack heat at public meetings.

    Blog text (29)
  • Another reason I'm packing heat when I'm out and about.

    Blog text (14)
  • Packing heat on college campuses.

    Blog text (28)
  • He's packing heat!

  • The only person known to be packing heat in that multiplex last week was the killer, and, God forbid, if a similar situation ever arises, carrying a loaded gun would at least give me a fighting chance.

    Blog text (12)
  • If more citizens pack heat on the street, the armed muggers will start to protect their bodies—they may not be the brightest folks around, but they are not the stupidest.

    Blog text (30)
  • Many people choose to pack heat for personal safety when walking at night.

  • As a former police officer, he often felt the need to pack heat while attending public events.

Synonyms

to packing
vsto pack heat
  • NSFW
9.2

To carry a gun or other weapon on your body

is a neutral expression implying carrying for protection or readiness to use violence

Antonyms

163 2.7

A person who is not carrying any weapons

How Armed

weaponed
8.9
to pack heat
  • NSFW
7 9.9
armed
986 2.7

Surface Forms

pack heat infinitive
packed heat past participle
packing heat present participle
packs heat third person singular

Morphology

packing + heat

The verb 'pack' (to carry) gives a clear cue that something is being carried, but the noun 'heat' as slang for a firearm is metaphorical and not derivable from the literal meaning of temperature. Because one constituent is transparent while the other relies on slang/idiomatic extension, a B1 learner who knows the literal words would only partially infer the meaning and would likely need exposure to confirm it.

Etymology

Pack heat comes from pack meaning to carry and heat as slang for a gun — one popular story says guns were called 'heat' because they get hot when fired. So pack heat means 'to carry a gun'.