- 1 sack somebody (informal, especially British English) to dismiss somebody from a job synonym fire She was sacked for refusing to work on Sundays. CollocationsUnemploymentLosing your job lose your job (British English) become/be made redundant be offered/take voluntary redundancy/early retirement face/be threatened with dismissal/(British English) the sack/(British English) compulsory redundancy dismiss/fire/ (especially British English) sack an employee/a worker/a manager lay off staff/workers/employees (Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English) retrench workers cut/reduce/downsize/slash the workforce (British English) make staff/workers/employees redundantBeing unemployed be unemployed/out of work/out of a job seek/look for work/employment be on/collect/draw/get/receive (both British English) unemployment benefit/jobseeker’s allowance be/go/live/sign (British English, informal) on the dole claim/draw/get (British English, informal) the dole be on/qualify for (North American English) unemployment (compensation) be/go/live/depend (North American English) on welfare collect/receive (North American English) welfare combat/tackle/cut/reduce unemployment See related entries: Unemployment
- 2sack something (of an army, etc., especially in the past) to destroy things and steal property in a town or building Rome was sacked by the Goths in 410. The army rebelled and sacked the palace.
- 3sack somebody (in American football) to knock down the quarterback The quarterback was sacked on the 45 yard line, and it was first down for the other team. See related entries: American football Word Originverb sense 1 and verb sense 3 Old English sacc, from Latin saccus ‘sack, sackcloth’, from Greek sakkos, of Semitic origin. Sense 1 of the verb dates from the mid 19th cent. verb sense 2 mid 16th cent.: from French sac, in the phrase mettre à sac ‘put to sack’, on the model of Italian fare il sacco, mettere a sacco, which perhaps originally referred to filling a sack with plunder. Phrasal Verbssack offsack out
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BrE BrE//sæk//; NAmE NAmE//sæk//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they sack BrE BrE//sæk//; NAmE NAmE//sæk//
he / she / it sacks BrE BrE//sæks//; NAmE NAmE//sæks//
past simple sacked BrE BrE//sækt//; NAmE NAmE//sækt//
past participle sacked BrE BrE//sækt//; NAmE NAmE//sækt//
-ing form sacking BrE BrE//ˈsækɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsækɪŋ//
Unemployment, American footballCheck pronunciation: sack
