Meaning of sack in English
Table of contents
Pronunciation
/sæk/US accent
UK accent
to browse different examples of pronunciation.Verb
sackEtymology
mid 16th century: from French sac, in the phrase mettre à sac‘put to sack’, on the model of Italian fare il sacco, mettere a sacco, which perhaps originally referred to filling a sack with plunderDefinitions
1. plunder (a town) after captureExamples
- « the barbarians sacked Rome »
Derived terms
- 2. terminate the employment of
Examples
- « The boss fired his secretary today »
- « The company terminated 25% of its workers »
Antonyms
Derived terms
- 3. make as a net profit
Examples
- « The company cleared $1 million »
- 4. put in a sack
Examples
- « The grocer sacked the onions »
Derived terms
Noun
sackEtymology
Old English sacc, from Latin saccus‘sack, sackcloth’, from Greek sakkos, of Semitic origin. Sense 1 of the verb dates from the mid 19th centuryDefinitions
1. a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases- 2. an enclosed space
Examples
- « the trapped miners found a pocket of air »
- 3. the quantity contained in a sack
- 4. any of various light dry strong white wine from Spain and Canary Islands (including sherry)
- 5. a woman's full loose hiplength jacket
- 6. a hanging bed of canvas or rope netting (usually suspended between two trees)
Examples
- « swing easily »
- 7. a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders without a waist
- 8. the plundering of a place by an army or mob
Examples
- « usually involves destruction and slaughter »
- « the sack of Rome »
Derived terms
- 9. the termination of someone's employment (leaving them free to depart)
Derived terms
Famous quotes
- « I might do 'X Factor' next year. It's looking good that I won't get the sack at Christmas. » Gary Barlow