sack

sack¹ [sæk] n

[: Old English; Origin: sacc, from Latin saccus, from Greek sakkos 'bag, sackcloth']

1.)

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

BrE 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 sth

formal a situation in which an army goes through a place, destroying or stealing things and attacking people

▪ the sack of Rome in 1527

sack ²

sack² v [T]

[Sense: 1-2,4; Date: 1900-2000; Origin: SACK¹]

[Sense: 3; Date: 1500-1600; 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 sacco]

1.) BrE informal to dismiss someone from their job

= ↑fire

▪ They couldn't sack me - I'd done nothing wrong.

sack sb from sth

▪ He was sacked from every other job he had.

sack sb for (doing) sth

▪ He was sacked for being drunk.

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

▪ Alaric the Goth advanced toward Rome, which he sacked in AD 410.

sack out phr v

informal to go to sleep

▪ He sacked out on the sofa.