A parcel is a package wrapped up for shipping or delivery. When your family orders something online, it arrives as a parcel on your doorstep, wrapped in brown paper or packed in a cardboard box. A mail carrier might deliver several parcels in a single day, each one containing books, clothes, or birthday presents heading to different addresses.

The word also refers to a piece of land with defined boundaries. A farmer might own a parcel of land where she grows corn, or a family might buy a parcel to build a house on. Real estate agents talk about land parcels the way delivery companies talk about packages: as individual, identifiable units.

You can also use parcel as a verb meaning to divide something into portions. A teacher might parcel out supplies to different groups, giving each team an equal share of materials for a science project. The phrase parcel out suggests careful division, making sure each portion goes to the right place or person, much like sorting packages for delivery.