Sack
/sæk/
nounverbB1
Definition
As a noun, a sack is a big, usually soft bag made from cloth, paper, or plastic that holds things like food or clothes. As a verb, to sack someone means to fire them or make them leave their job, usually because of bad work or behavior.
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See It in Action
Noun: A large bag for carrying or storing things
- •He carried a sack full of apples from the market.
- •The farmer filled the sack with grain.
- •She put her clothes in a sack for the trip.
Verb: To remove someone from their job (to fire)
- •The company sacked him because he was late every day.
- •She was sacked after the project failed.
- •Many workers were sacked during the factory closure.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "sack" like "bag" (A1 word) when it is a noun, but usually bigger and less hard.
- ✓Picture a big bag full of potatoes or rice that you can carry on your shoulder.
- ✓It's the feeling of losing a job when someone says "You are sacked," which can be sad or stressful.
- ✓Sounds like "sack" → imagine someone packing a big bag quickly or being "packed" out of a job.
- ✓In stories or movies, characters get "sacked" when they do something wrong at work and must leave.
- ✓NOT like "box" (hard container), a sack is soft and flexible.
- ✓NOT like "quit" (to leave a job yourself), "sack" means someone else makes you leave.
- ✓NOT like "bag" that just holds things, "sack" as a verb means taking away a job.
Try Other Words
- •Bag: a container made of soft material (Use when referring to smaller or everyday carrying containers)
- •Dismiss: to officially remove someone from a job (Use in formal or professional contexts instead of "sack" as a verb)
- •Fire: to make someone leave their job (Use in informal speech as a synonym for "sack")
Unboxing
- •Word parts: single root word "sack"
- •Etymology: From Old English "sacc" and Latin "saccus," meaning bag or pouch
- •Historical development: Originally meant a bag for carrying goods; later used in military language to mean looting a city (taking things by force), then extended to mean removing someone from a job
- •Modern usage: Commonly used for a large bag and to say someone lost their job suddenly
Reflect & Connect
•How do you feel when you hear someone was "sacked" from their job? Is it different from "quitting"?
•Can the word "sack" have positive meanings, or is it always negative when used as a verb?
Fill in the blanks
1.He carried a heavy ___ full of potatoes from the field to the truck.
2.The manager decided to ___ the worker because of poor performance.
3.When you are ___ from a job, it usually means you did not leave by choice but were forced out.
4.Unlike "quit," to ___ someone means the employer ends the job.
5.A ___ is usually bigger and rougher than a regular bag, often made of cloth or plastic.
6.After being ___, she looked for a new job immediately.
7.The farmer filled the ___ with grain before selling it at the market.