sack
sack1 S3 /sæk/ 
noun [countable]
a. a large bag made of strong rough cloth or strong paper, used for storing or carrying flour, coal, vegetables etc
sack of
a sack of potatoes
b. (also sackful) the amount that a sack can contain
sack of
We need about a sack of rice.
2. the sack British English informal when someone is dismissed from their job:
They’ve never actually given anyone the sack.
He got the sack for stealing.
She claimed she’d been threatened with the sack.
3. hit the sack old-fashioned informal to go to bed:
It’s one o'clock – time to hit the sack.
4. in the sack informal in bed – used to talk about sexual activity:
I bet she’s great in the sack.
5. the sack of something formal a situation in which an army goes through a place, destroying or stealing things and attacking people:
the sack of Rome in 1527
sack2 verb [transitive]
Origin: sack 'destruction of and stealing from a town' (16-21 centuries), from French sac ( ⇨ sac), in the phrase mettre A sac 'put in the bag', from Italian mettere a sacco1. British English informal to dismiss someone from their job
SYN fire:
They couldn’t sack me – I’d done nothing wrong.
sack somebody from something
He was sacked from every other job he had.
sack somebody for (doing) something
He was sacked for being drunk.
REGISTER
In written and formal British English, people often prefer to use dismiss rather than sack:
▪People can be dismissed for misusing the Internet at work.
2. to knock down the quarterback in American football
3. if soldiers sack a place, they go through it destroying or stealing things and attacking people:
The Goths sacked Rome.
sack out phrasal verb American English
informal to go to sleep:
He sacked out on the sofa.
| I |
noun [countable] Language: Old English
Origin: sacc, from Latin saccus, from Greek sakkos 'bag, sackcloth'
1.Origin: sacc, from Latin saccus, from Greek sakkos 'bag, sackcloth'
a. a large bag made of strong rough cloth or strong paper, used for storing or carrying flour, coal, vegetables etc
sack of
b. (also sackful) the amount that a sack can contain
sack of
2. the sack British English informal when someone is dismissed from their job:
3. hit the sack old-fashioned informal to go to bed:
4. in the sack informal in bed – used to talk about sexual activity:
5. the sack of something formal a situation in which an army goes through a place, destroying or stealing things and attacking people:
| II |
verb [transitive] Sense 3
Date: 1500-1600Origin: sack 'destruction of and stealing from a town' (16-21 centuries), from French sac ( ⇨ sac), in the phrase mettre A sac 'put in the bag', from Italian mettere a sacco
SYN fire:
sack somebody from something
sack somebody for (doing) something
REGISTER
In written and formal British English, people often prefer to use dismiss rather than sack:
▪
2. to knock down the quarterback in American football
3. if soldiers sack a place, they go through it destroying or stealing things and attacking people:
sack out phrasal verb American English
informal to go to sleep: