sack

[ sak ]

/ sæk /

noun

a large bag of strong, coarsely woven material, as for grain, potatoes, or coal.

the amount a sack holds.

a bag: a sack of candy.

Slang. dismissal or discharge, as from a job: to get the sack.

Slang. bed: I bet he's still in the sack.

Also sacque.

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.
a loose-fitting coat, jacket, or cape.

Baseball. a base.

South Midland U.S. the udder of a cow.

verb (used with object)

to put into a sack or sacks.

Football. to tackle (the quarterback) behind the line of scrimmage before the quarterback is able to throw a pass.

Slang. to dismiss or discharge, as from a job.

Verb Phrases

sack out, Slang. to go to bed; fall asleep.

Idioms for sack

hit the sack, Slang. to go to bed; go to sleep: He never hits the sack before midnight.

leave holding the sack. bag(def 28).

Origin of sack

before 1000; 1940–45 for def 5; Middle English sak (noun), sakken (v.), Old English sacc (noun) < Latin saccus bag, sackcloth < Greek sákkos < Semitic; compare Hebrew śaq

regional variation note for sack

See bag.

OTHER WORDS FROM sack

sack·like, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sack

bag sac sack sacque

Words nearby sack

sacher-masoch, sachet, sachs, sachsen, sachsen-anhalt, sack, sack coat, sack dress, sack out, sack race, sack suit

Definition for sacks (2 of 3)

sack ²

[ sak ]

/ sæk /

verb (used with object)

to pillage or loot after capture; plunder: to sack a city.

noun

the plundering of a captured place; pillage: the sack of Troy.

Origin of sack

1540–50; < Middle French phrase mettre à sac to put to pillage; sac, in this sense < Italian sacco looting, loot, shortened form of saccomano < Middle High German sakman pillager (conformed to sacco sack¹)

SYNONYMS FOR sack

1 spoil, despoil. See rob.

2 looting; destruction, ruin.

Definition for sacks (3 of 3)

sack ³

[ sak ]

/ sæk /

noun

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

Origin of sack

1525–35; < French ( vin) sec dry (wine) < Latin siccus dry; cf. sec¹

Example sentences from the Web for sacks

Victims were put into sacks, speared, and thrown into the Congo River.

‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis |Nina Strochlic |November 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
At one rally in Mississippi, a large group of them showed up, Jackson remembers, with “sacks on their heads.”

The Unsung Heroism of Jesse Jackson |David Masciotra |September 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Sacks discusses this surreal experience with great humor, but he makes no bones about his misgivings.

The Stacks: Robin Williams, More Than A Shtick Figure |Joe Morgenstern |August 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
On the face of it, Sacks is describing a different person from the thoughtful, often quiet man I met in California.

The Stacks: Robin Williams, More Than A Shtick Figure |Joe Morgenstern |August 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

MARTA: With sacks of money and the anti-Communist tactics of your Senator Jzo-ay McCarthy.

Whit Stillman on the 20th Anniversary of ‘Barcelona’, His New Amazon Series, and the Myth of the Ugly Expat |Michael Weiss |August 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The countryman had his corn thrashed, winnowed it, put in into sacks, and went with it to market.

Gargantua and Pantagruel, Complete. |Francois Rabelais
Now there were five sacks of seed-corn outside, so her husband tied up the Golova, and set her in the midst of them.

Russian Fairy Tales |W. R. S. Ralston
I was glad to get rid of the sacks, as they filled our carriage up completely.

In the Ranks of the C.I.V. |Erskine Childers
The sacks were opened and the heads rolled out before the assembled populace.

Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete |Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne
During the progress of Jud's story he had been slowly but deftly combining certain portions of the contents of his sacks and cans.

Heart of the West |O. Henry

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (1 of 4)

Sacks

/ (sæks) /

noun

Jonathan (Henry). Baron. born 1948, British rabbi; Commonwealth chief rabbi (1991–2013)

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (2 of 4)

sack ¹

/ (sæk) /

noun

a large bag made of coarse cloth, thick paper, etc, used as a container

Also called: sackful the amount contained in a sack, sometimes used as a unit of measurement

a woman's loose tube-shaped dress
Also called: sacque a woman's full loose hip-length jacket, worn in the 18th and mid-20th centuries

short for rucksack

cricket, Australian 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

the sack informal dismissal from employment

a slang word for bed

hit the sack slang to go to bed

rough as sacks NZ uncouth

verb (tr)

informal to dismiss from employment

to put into a sack or sacks

Derived forms of sack

sacklike, adjective

Word Origin for sack

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

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (3 of 4)

sack ²

/ (sæk) /

noun

the plundering of a place by an army or mob, usually involving destruction, slaughter, etc

American football a tackle on a quarterback which brings him down before he has passed the ball

verb

(tr) to plunder and partially destroy (a place)

American football to tackle and bring down a quarterback before he has passed the ball

Derived forms of sack

sacker, noun

Word Origin for sack

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

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (4 of 4)

sack ³

/ (sæk) /

noun

archaic or trademark any dry white wine formerly imported into Britain from SW Europe

Word Origin for sack

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

Idioms and Phrases with sacks

sack

In addition to the idiom beginning with sack

sack out

also see:

get the ax (sack)
hit the hay (sack)
sad sack

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sack

noun

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

Idioms for sack

Origin of sack

regional variation note for sack

OTHER WORDS FROM sack

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sack

Words nearby sack

Definition for sacks (2 of 3)

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of sack

SYNONYMS FOR sack

Definition for sacks (3 of 3)

noun

Origin of sack

Example sentences from the Web for sacks

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (1 of 4)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (2 of 4)

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of sack

Word Origin for sack

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (3 of 4)

noun

verb

Derived forms of sack

Word Origin for sack

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (4 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for sack

Idioms and Phrases with sacks

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sack

noun

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

Idioms for sack

Origin of sack

regional variation note for sack

OTHER WORDS FROM sack

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sack

Words nearby sack

Definition for sacks (2 of 3)

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of sack

SYNONYMS FOR sack

Definition for sacks (3 of 3)

noun

Origin of sack

Words related to sacks

Example sentences from the Web for sacks

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (1 of 4)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (2 of 4)

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of sack

Word Origin for sack

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (3 of 4)

noun

verb

Derived forms of sack

Word Origin for sack

British Dictionary definitions for sacks (4 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for sack

Idioms and Phrases with sacks