sack

1 of 5

noun (1)

1
: a usually rectangular-shaped bag (as of paper, burlap, or canvas)
2
: the amount contained in a sack
especially : a fixed amount of a commodity used as a unit of measure
3
a
: a woman's loose-fitting dress
b
: a short usually loose-fitting coat for women and children
4
: dismissal
gave him the sack
5
a
b
: bed
6
: a base in baseball
7
: an instance of sacking the quarterback in football
sackful noun

sack

2 of 5

verb (1)

sacked; sacking; sacks

transitive verb

1
: to put in or as if in a sack
2
: to dismiss especially summarily
3
: to tackle (the quarterback) behind the line of scrimmage in football

sack

3 of 5

noun (2)

: any of several white wines imported to England from Spain and the Canary Islands during the 16th and 17th centuries

sack

4 of 5

verb (2)

sacked; sacking; sacks

transitive verb

1
: to plunder (a place, such as a town) especially after capture
2
: to strip of valuables : loot

sack

5 of 5

noun (3)

: the plundering of a captured town
Choose the Right Synonym for sack

ravage, devastate, waste, sack, pillage, despoil mean to lay waste by plundering or destroying.

ravage implies violent often cumulative depredation and destruction.

a hurricane ravaged the coast

devastate implies the complete ruin and desolation of a wide area.

an earthquake devastated the city

waste may imply producing the same result by a slow process rather than sudden and violent action.

years of drought had wasted the area

sack implies carrying off all valuable possessions from a place.

barbarians sacked ancient Rome

pillage implies ruthless plundering at will but without the completeness suggested by sack.

settlements pillaged by Vikings

despoil applies to looting or robbing without suggesting accompanying destruction.

the Nazis despoiled the art museums

Examples of sack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Germanic tribes had repeatedly sacked Rome, and most of its libraries were closed or destroyed. Claudia Roth Pierpont, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 The trend, involving what appears to be authentic videos of individuals either in the process of getting sacked or reacting to the experience moments after getting the axe, includes workers from fast-food restaurants to office jobs to teaching. Anne Marie Lee, CBS News, 12 Feb. 2024 The Chargers sacked their previous head coach and general manager after a brutal 63-21 beating by the Las Vegas Raiders last month. Rebecca Cohen, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2024 Bournemouth made the harsh decision to sack O’Neill and might now regret that call with Wolves comfortably above their manager’s former club. Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 And while pass protection could have been a lot better — Young was sacked 62 times in his first NFL campaign — the shortcomings of his playmakers greatly impacted the passing production on Sundays. Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 29 Feb. 2024 But he was sacked four times and intercepted three, including a fourth-quarter theft by Rick Volk, a Pro Bowl safety who outwrestled a receiver for the ball at the Colts’ 5-yard line. Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 27 Jan. 2024 Jared Goff was sacked into the back of Ragnow's legs by Calijah Kancey, and the two players rolled up the back of Ragnow's left leg while he was engaged in a block with Vita Vea. Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan. 2024 Getting four-man pressure The 49ers were able to get to Rodgers with a four-man rush, sacking him eight times in 2019 with wins in the regular season and the NFC Championship Game. Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 15 Jan. 2024
Noun
The Panthers tied the Washington Commanders with the second-most sacks allowed (65) in the league last season. Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 4 Mar. 2024 Javon Kinlaw had his best season (20 games, 3.5 sacks) in a reserve capacity. Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2024 Mack, 33, is coming off a career season with 17 sacks but would eat up $38.5 million in cap space. Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 The 30-year-old tied his career high with 9 1/2 sacks, didn’t miss a game and was a stout run defender. Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 13 Feb. 2024 Both items benefit from having air flow and more space than what’s allowed in a compression sack. Kevin Brouillard, Travel + Leisure, 21 Feb. 2024 To Richardson, this showed her that 12-year-olds carrying around a five-pound sack of flour may not be an effective way to show the realities of having a baby. Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 21 Feb. 2024 Despite not playing the entire season with the Ravens, Van Noy enjoyed a career year with nine sacks while playing a major role in a defensive front that led the NFL with 60 sacks. Dj Siddiqi, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 But in the years after California seemingly kicked its plastic grocery sack habit, material recovery facilities and environmental activists noticed a peculiar trend: Plastic bag waste by weight was increasing to unprecedented levels. Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English sak bag, sackcloth, from Old English sacc, from Latin saccus bag & Late Latin saccus sackcloth, both from Greek sakkos bag, sackcloth, of Semitic origin; akin to Hebrew śaq bag, sackcloth

Noun (2)

modification of Middle French sec dry, from Latin siccus; probably akin to Old High German sīhan to filter, Sanskrit siñcati he pours

Noun (3) and Verb (2)

Middle French sac, from Old Italian sacco, literally, bag, from Latin saccus

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1532, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

circa 1547, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

1549, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sack was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near sack

Cite this Entry

“Sack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sack. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sack

1 of 5 noun
1
: a flexible container (as of paper) : bag
2
3
: discharge from employment
usually used with get or give
4
sacklike
-ˌlīk
adjective

sack

2 of 5 verb
1
: to put in a sack
2

sack

3 of 5 noun
: any of several white wines imported to England from Spain and the Canary Islands in the 16th and 17th centuries

sack

4 of 5 verb
1
: to loot after capture
2

sack

5 of 5 noun
: the looting of a captured town
Etymology

Noun

Middle English sak "bag, sackcloth," from early French sacc (same meaning), from Latin saccus "bag" and later Latin saccus "sackcloth," both from Greek sakkos "bag, sackcloth" — related to sack entry 4

Noun

from early French sec "dry to the taste, not sweet," from Latin siccus (same meaning)

Verb

from English sack "the action of looting," from early French sac (same meaning), from early Italian sacco, literally, "a bag," from Latin saccus "bag" — related to sack entry 1

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