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sack

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The definition of a sack is a bag used for putting things in or a bag that already contains something.

(noun)

An example of a sack is a reusable grocery bag.

To sack is a slang term that is defined as to fire someone from their job.

(verb)

An example of sack is when a clerk is dismissed from their job because they took money from the register.

See sack in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

1. a bag, esp. a large one of coarse cloth, for holding grain, foodstuffs, etc.
2. such a bag with its contents
the quantity contained in such a bag: a measure of weight of varying amounts
1. a short, loosefitting jacket worn by women
2. shift ()
Slang dismissal from a job; discharge: with the
☆ Slang a bed, bunk, etc.
☆ Baseball base ()
☆ Football the act of sacking a quarterback

Origin: ME sak < OE sacc, akin to OHG sac, Goth sakkus < early Gmc borrowing < L saccus, bag, in LL(Ec), sackcloth garment < Gr sakkos < Sem: cf. Heb sak, Akkadian shaqqu, sackcloth

transitive verb

to put into a sack or sacks
Slang to dismiss (a person) from a job; discharge
☆ Football to tackle (a quarterback) behind the line of scrimmage

noun

the plundering or looting, esp. by soldiers, of a captured city or town

Origin: MFr sac < It sacco, plunder, lit., bag < L saccus: see sack

transitive verb

to plunder or loot (a captured city, etc.)

noun

any of various dry white wines from Spain or the Canary Islands, popular in England during the 16th and 17th cent.

Origin: earlier (wyne)seck < Fr (vin)sec, dry (wine) < L siccus, dry (see siccative); sp. infl. by ? Sp (vino de) saca, (wine for) export < sacar, to remove

See sack in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. A large bag of strong coarse material for holding objects in bulk.
b. A similar container of paper or plastic.
c. The amount that such a container can hold.
also sacque A short loose-fitting garment for women and children.
Slang Dismissal from employment: finally got the sack after a year of ineptitude.
Informal A bed, mattress, or sleeping bag.
Baseball A base.
Football A successful attempt at sacking the quarterback.

transitive verb sacked, sack·ing, sacks

To place into a sack.
Slang To discharge from employment. See Synonyms at dismiss.
Football To tackle (a quarterback attempting to pass the ball) behind the line of scrimmage.

Phrasal Verb: sack out Slang To sleep.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old English sacc

Origin: , from Latin saccus

Origin: , from Greek sakkos

Origin: , of Semitic origin; see śqq in Semitic roots

Word History: The ordinary word sack carries within it a few thousand years of commercial history. Sack, which probably goes back to Middle Eastern antiquity, has a long history because it and its ancestors denoted an object used in trade between various peoples. Thus the Greeks got their word sakkos, “a bag made out of coarse cloth or hair,” from the Phoenicians with whom they traded. We do not know the Phoenician word, but we know words that are akin to it, such as Hebrew śaq and Akkadian saqqu. The Greeks then passed the sack, as it were, to the Latin-speaking Romans, who transmitted their word saccus, “a large bag or sack,” to the Germanic tribes with whom they traded, who gave it the form *sakkiz (other peoples have also taken this word from Greek or Latin, including speakers of Welsh, Russian, Polish, and Albanian). The speakers of Old English, a Germanic language, used two forms of the word, sǽc, from *sakkiz, and sacc, directly from Latin; the second Old English form is the ancestor of our sack.

transitive verb sacked, sack·ing, sacks

To rob of goods or valuables, especially after capture.

noun