sack
verb/sæk/
/sæk/
Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they sack | /sæk/ /sæk/ |
| he / she / it sacks | /sæks/ /sæks/ |
| past simple sacked | /sækt/ /sækt/ |
| past participle sacked | /sækt/ /sækt/ |
| -ing form sacking | /ˈsækɪŋ/ /ˈsækɪŋ/ |
- sack somebody (especially British English, informal) to dismiss somebody from a job synonym fire
- She was sacked for refusing to work on Sundays.
Collocations UnemploymentUnemploymentLosing your jobTopics Social issuesc1, Working lifec1- 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 redundant
- 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
- sack 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.
- sack 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.
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.
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