sack

[ sak ]

/ sæk /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sack ON THESAURUS.COM

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 sacked (2 of 2)

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.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sack ON THESAURUS.COM

Example sentences from the Web for sacked

On Friday, she sacked Roger Goodell, basically asking: “Hey Commissioner, ever hear of double-jeopardy?”

The $44 Million Teflon Don of the NFL |Mike Barnicle |November 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A medical examiner who would confuse the two of them should be sacked.

Scandal’s Finale Featured One of the Most Preposterous TV Deaths Ever |Russell Saunders |April 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Wilson was sacked 44 times in just 458 attempts, or once in about every 10 drop backs.

Peyton Manning Vs. Richard Sherman |Allen Barra |January 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The NCAA wants to kill collective bargaining for “student-athletes” in the crib before its lucrative business model get sacked.

College Football’s Toughest Play: Unionizing |Evan Weiner |January 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The sacked employee had then spent months planning the vengeful act on his ex-boss.

Brunello’s King Lear: Gianfranco Soldera Reflects on the Attack on His Wine |Alice Feiring |December 8, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Sometimes there was ten, fifteen, or twenty thousand dollars in sacked silver stacked on the vault floor.

Roads of Destiny |O. Henry
After the threshing process it is sacked and stored in the fields in which it has grown.

Commercial Geography |Jacques W. Redway
St. Cuthberts holy island of Lindisfarne was sacked in 793, and similar raids multiplied with portentous rapidity.

The Mediaeval Mind (Volume I of II) |Henry Osborn Taylor
One poem narrates the circumstances of an English incursion in 1596, during which the town of Faro was stormed and sacked.

Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ |Rev. A. Bernstein, B.D.
The office of the Pennsylvania Freeman was in 1838 sacked and burned by a mob.

John Greenleaf Whittier |W. Sloane Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for sacked (1 of 3)

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 sacked (2 of 3)

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 sacked (3 of 3)

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 sacked

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 sacked (2 of 2)

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of sack

SYNONYMS FOR sack

Example sentences from the Web for sacked

British Dictionary definitions for sacked (1 of 3)

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of sack

Word Origin for sack

British Dictionary definitions for sacked (2 of 3)

noun

verb

Derived forms of sack

Word Origin for sack

British Dictionary definitions for sacked (3 of 3)

noun

Word Origin for sack

Idioms and Phrases with sacked

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 sacked (2 of 2)

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of sack

SYNONYMS FOR sack

Words related to sacked

Example sentences from the Web for sacked

British Dictionary definitions for sacked (1 of 3)

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of sack

Word Origin for sack

British Dictionary definitions for sacked (2 of 3)

noun

verb

Derived forms of sack

Word Origin for sack

British Dictionary definitions for sacked (3 of 3)

noun

Word Origin for sack

Idioms and Phrases with sacked