to give (someone) the sack
1
5.2
- phrasal verb
- /ɡɪv sʌmˌwʌn ðə sæk/
- UK
:
despedir
- Prick said he'll give us the sack if we don't come in.
Examples
-
How can I possible give you the sack?
-
When he gives you the sack, let me know, will you?
-
"The Times has given you the sack twice that I know of, exactly because you didn't know how to approach your public.
Fiction book (1998) -
Who'll give the Axis the sack and is smart as a fox?
-
Who'll give the Axis the sack and is smart as a fox?
-
She gave me the sack today, but that's because you're home.
-
Eavesdropping is a low habit his lordship will not tolerate and so, young idiot Albert, I'm forced to give you the sack.
-
After many warnings about his performance, the manager decided to give him the sack last Friday.
-
The company had to give the employee the sack due to budget cuts.
-
If you continue to arrive late, you might find yourself getting the sack.
Synonyms
∞
2.8
To officially make someone leave their job
852
3.8
To stop employing someone so they lose their job
236
3.0
To force someone to leave a place, job, or group
90
5.5
To make someone stop working for a company
70
3.3
To remove someone from their job
43
3.0
Make someone leave a job or group because of a problem
37
3.5
To make someone leave their job
12
7.4
To stop someone from working at their job, usually because of bad work or behavior
4
8.5
To tell someone to leave their job or to stop using something
4
7.9
Make someone leave quickly and forcefully
2
4.1
Formally tell an employee that their job will end
To suddenly end someone's job or a relationship, often without warning
Antonyms
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'give' is a transparent transfer verb, the sense of 'sack' meaning 'dismissal' is an idiomatic, culture-specific sense not derivable from the literal noun 'sack' (bag). A B1 learner who only knows the basic meanings of the constituents would not predict 'to fire someone' from 'give the sack', so prior exposure or knowledge of the idiom is required.
Etymology
Give (someone) the sack may come from a time when a boss gave a worker a real sack with their tools and few personal things to take home after losing the job. So, the phrase came to mean 'to dismiss someone from their job'.