A packet is a small package or container, usually holding just enough of something for one use or occasion. You might grab a packet of sugar for your tea, tear open a packet of ketchup at lunch, or find a packet of seeds to plant in your garden. Each packet contains a measured amount, sealed up and ready to use.

The word suggests something compact and self-contained. A packet of hot cocoa mix holds just enough powder for one mug. A packet of soy sauce from a restaurant contains a single serving. This packaging makes things portable and convenient: you can toss a few packets in your backpack or desk drawer without worrying about spills or waste.

In computer science, a packet means something similar but invisible: a small bundle of data traveling across the internet. When you load a website or send a message, your computer breaks the information into thousands of tiny packets that zip through networks independently, then reassemble at their destination. Like packets of sugar, these data packets are small, self-contained units designed to get something from one place to another efficiently.

The word can also describe a bundle of papers or documents, like an information packet your teacher hands out before a field trip, containing permission slips, schedules, and instructions clipped together.