noun
sack
sak
noun
1
A large bag, typically of coarse material, used for carrying or storing bulk goods.
"They loaded sacks of potatoes onto the truck."
"A sack of flour split open in the storeroom."
2
The violent looting and destruction of a captured city or town.
"Historians still debate the true scale of the sack of Rome in 410 AD."
3
Informal: dismissal from a job.
"He got the sack after missing three deadlines in a row."
4
American football: a tackle of the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage before he can pass.
"The defensive end recorded three sacks in the game."
verb
1
To dismiss someone from their job; to fire.
"The board voted to sack the manager after the scandal."
"She was sacked for repeated lateness."
2
To loot and destroy a captured town or city.
"The invading army sacked the capital within days."
3
American football: to tackle the quarterback behind the line before he throws.
"He was sacked twice in the first quarter."
How to Use Sack
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA large bag, or (informally) to fire someone, or a football tackle behind the line.
When to use it
"Get the sack" / "sack someone" is informal, common in British English for being fired.
Common pairings
get the sack
sack of potatoes
sack the coach
quarterback sack
Word Forms
sacked past tense, sacks plural, sacks plural, sacks singular
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Etymology
From Old English sacc, ultimately from Latin saccus, "large bag," which itself came from Greek and possibly a Semitic source. The "fire someone" sense grew from 19th-century slang about a dismissed worker packing his tools into a sack.