sack

¹

[ sak ]

noun

1. a large bag of strong, coarsely woven material, as for grain, potatoes, or coal.
2. the amount a sack holds.
3. a bag:

   a sack of candy.

4. the sack, Informal. dismissal or discharge, as from a job:

   to get the sack.

5. the sack, Slang. bed, often as the site of sexual activity:

   It's past noon, but I bet that lazybones is still in the sack.

   If you want the relationship to be more than just a night in the sack, you have to work at it.

6. Also sacque.
   1. a loose-fitting dress, as a gown with a Watteau back, especially one fashionable in the late 17th century and much of the 18th century.
   2. a loose-fitting coat, jacket, or cape.
7. Baseball. a base.
8. South Midland U.S. the udder of a cow.

verb (used with object)

1. to put into a sack or sacks.
2. Football. to tackle (the quarterback) behind the line of scrimmage before the quarterback is able to throw a pass.
3. Informal. to dismiss or discharge, as from a job.

verb phrase

1. Slang. to go to bed; fall asleep.

sack

²

[ sak ]

verb (used with object)

1. to pillage or loot after capture; plunder:

   to sack a city.

   Synonyms: despoil, spoil

noun

1. the plundering of a captured place; pillage:

   the sack of Troy.

   Synonyms: ruin, destruction

sack

³

[ sak ]

noun

1. a strong light-colored wine formerly imported from Spain and the Canary Islands.

sack

¹

/ sæk /

noun

1. archaic.
   any dry white wine formerly imported into Britain from SW Europe

sack

²

/ sæk /

noun

1. a large bag made of coarse cloth, thick paper, etc, used as a container
2. Also calledsackful the amount contained in a sack, sometimes used as a unit of measurement
3. 1. a woman's loose tube-shaped dress
   2. Also calledsacque a woman's full loose hip-length jacket, worn in the 18th and mid-20th centuries
4. short for rucksack
5. cricket a run scored off a ball not struck by the batsman: allotted to the team as an extra and not to the individual batsman Also called (in Britain and certain other countries)bye
6. the sack informal.
   dismissal from employment
7. a slang word for bed
8. hit the sack slang.
   to go to bed
9. rough as sacks
   uncouth

verb

1. informal.
   to dismiss from employment
2. to put into a sack or sacks

sack

³

/ sæk /

noun

1. the plundering of a place by an army or mob, usually involving destruction, slaughter, etc
2. American football a tackle on a quarterback which brings him down before he has passed the ball

verb

1. tr to plunder and partially destroy (a place)
2. American football to tackle and bring down a quarterback before he has passed the ball

Derived Forms

• ˈsackˌlike, adjective
• ˈsacker, noun

Other Words From

• sack·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sack¹

First recorded before 1000; 1940–45 sack ¹fordef 5; Middle English noun sak, sak(k)e Old English sacc, from Latin saccus “bag, sack, sackcloth,” from Greek sákkos “bag made from goat hair, sieve, burlap, large cloak (as for a wedding dress),” from Semitic; compare Hebrew, Phoenician śaq “cloth made of hair, bag, mourning dress”

Origin of sack²

First recorded in 1540–50; from Middle French phrase mettre à sac “to put to pillage”; sac, in this sense from Italian sacco “looting, loot,” shortened form of saccomano, from Middle High German sakman “pillager” (conformed to sacco sack ¹ )

Origin of sack³

First recorded in 1525–35; from French ( vin ) sec “dry (wine),” from Latin siccus “dry”; sec ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sack¹

C16 wyne seck, from French vin sec dry wine, from Latin siccus dry

Origin of sack²

Old English sacc, from Latin saccus bag, from Greek sakkos ; related to Hebrew saq

Origin of sack³

C16: from French phrase mettre à sac, literally: to put (loot) in a sack, from Latin saccus sack ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. hit the sack, Slang. to go to bed; go to sleep:

   He never hits the sack before midnight.

2. leave holding the sack. bag ( def 30 ).

More idioms and phrases containing sack

In addition to the idiom beginning with sack , also see get the ax (sack) ; hit the hay (sack) ; sad sack .

Synonym Study

See rob.

Example Sentences

Trump revealed plans to sack Mr Gensler on "day one" of his new administration after the chairman took legal action against crypto firms, sparking controversy in some quarters.

From BBC

In June, Nick Adderly, the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police was sacked for exaggerating his naval rank and length of service.

From BBC

Palmer struggled that day for the Trojans, his 252 passing yards and two touchdowns offset by two interceptions, a fumble, six sacks and a run game that generated only 3.9 yards per carry.

From Los Angeles Times

The 54-year-old, who was sacked as a Merseyside Police special constable last year over undeclared debts, has not responded to the latest allegations despite repeated attempts to contact him.

From BBC

After being gathered by hand, villagers from Umm Safa take sacks full of olives to the nearby factory, where the presses have restarted this season.

From BBC

Related Words

• discharge
• dismiss
• expel
• fire
• terminate