care package

American

noun

Also CARE package. a package containing food, clothing, or other items sent as necessities to people in need of them.
a gift of treats to relatives or friends, especially of items not readily available to them.

She sends monthly care packages of homemade cookies to her son at college.

care package Idioms

A gift package of food or other items not readily available to the recipient, as in While I was in college, Mom sent me a care package of homemade cookies just about every month. This term originated after World War II with CARE, an organization founded to send needed food, clothing, and other items to war-torn nations. By the 1960s the term had been transferred to sending packages of treats to children at camp, students away at school, and the like.

Etymology

Origin of care package

First recorded in 1945–50; from the aid packages distributed by CARE

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A major factor is the crisis in social care provision, which sees older, more frail patients trapped in hospital beds for days or even weeks because a suitable care package cannot be found.

From BBC

A regional NHS care board commissions the care package.

From BBC

When he arrived in Arizona, a care package awaited him at the local Wal-Mart.

From Slate

George has a 24-hour social care package and is also entitled to a seperate support worker to help him do his job.

From BBC

An hour and a half after she received the call, Bri was at the family’s doorstep with 350 ounces of milk in a cooler, along with a care package that included instructions on how to safely thaw the milk, a bottle warmer, bottles and some extra clothes that no longer fit her then-6-month-old.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023