sacking

1 of 3

noun (1)

sack·​ing ˈsa-kiŋ How to pronounce sacking (audio)
plural sackings
: an act of dismissal from employment or an office
Days before the sacking, the trio drew up a list of candidate-heirs.Andrew Meier
Is it any wonder that so many nanny jobs end in blowups and abrupt sackings?Caitlin Flanagan

sacking

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural sackings
: an act or action of plundering or vanquishing
the sacking of Rome
One society leader compared the sight to the sacking of Versailles.Louisa Thomas

sacking

3 of 3

noun (3)

: material for sacks
especially : a coarse fabric (such as burlap)

Examples of sacking in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The surprise sacking and rapid reinstatement of OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman gave the company an embarrassing emperor-has-no-clothes moment. Brian Merchant, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2024 For many historians, the sacking marked the end of five centuries of cultural and scientific flourishing—the Islamic Golden Age. Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2023 The recent on-off sacking of Sam Altman from OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT, is yet another example of how there appears to be nowhere quite like Silicon Valley for getting itself in a mess over corporate governance. Roger Trapp, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023 Key Facts Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was appointed as the U.K.’s new Home Secretary following Braverman’s sacking, the British Prime Minister’s office announced. Siladitya Ray, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 With the situation now apparently resolved in the interests of OpenAI’s shareholders, co-founder Greg Brockman, who had briefly resigned as chairman in protest of Altman’s sacking, attempted to put on a brave face. Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2023 But the other big development of the day — the sacking of Braverman — surprised no one. Karla Adam, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2023 Though, the recent debacle regarding the sacking and re-hiring of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI certainly casts a blurry view of what good governance looks like. 3. Ajay Khari, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023 The chaos surrounding Altman’s brief sacking made that obvious. Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1906, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1553, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1707, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sacking was in 1553

Dictionary Entries Near sacking

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

sacking

noun
sack·​ing ˈsak-iŋ How to pronounce sacking (audio)
: strong rough cloth from which sacks are made
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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