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Glite Dictionary
🛤️ A firm surface ❄️ Firm and solid
hardpack

hardpack

1 6.0
A surface of tightly packed snow or dirt that is firm to walk on
  • noun
  • /ˈhɑrdˌpæk/
: capa compactada
  • The skiers enjoyed a smooth ride on the hardpack that covered the trail.
  • hardpack snow
  • crud and hardpack
  • hardpack arcs

Examples

  • The ground rolls into a hardpack and we lost that track, too.

    Fast Five (2011)

  • A black T-shirt, Marlboro hardpack rolled in the shoulder.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Marquette represents the Big East, and more specifically Michigan's Upper Peninsula—an area forged from rope tows, snowguns, and hardpack.

    Blog text (16)

  • After the snowfall, the roads were transformed into hardpack that made driving easier.

  • The mountain resort reported excellent conditions on the hardpack slopes after the recent grooming.

Synonyms

solid ground
vshardpack
17 1.8

Firm land you can stand on instead of water

is a surface of snow or soil that is packed down until firm

How Firm

hardpack
1 6.0
ice
∞ 1.0
snowpack
  • UK
7 3.8
powder
284 1.0

Surface Forms

hardpack singular
hardpacks plural

Morphology

hardpack = hard + pack (transparent) = hard + pack

The noun refers to a compacted surface or mass, a direct compound of 'hard' + 'pack' that learners can deduce from the parts.

Etymology

Hardpack as a noun names the surface made by hard ('firm') + pack ('press together'): snow or dirt that has been pressed down until it is solid. So when people talk about 'the hardpack' they mean the firm, packed ground or snow you can easily walk or ride on.