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Glite Dictionary
to sack someone

to sack someone

4.8
To stop employing someone, often suddenly as punishment
  • phrasal verb
  • /sæk ˈsʌmˌwʌn/
  • UK
translation icon : despedir a alguien
  • After repeated warnings, management had no choice but to sack someone for poor performance.

It was lawful to sack someone from their job or deny them housing.

Examples

  • He was shocked when they chose to sack someone without any warning.

  • The company decided to sack someone after the major financial loss.

  • It was lawful to sack someone from their job or deny them housing.

    andrew gold | heretics.

Synonyms

to fire
vsto sack someone
∞ 2.8

To officially make someone leave their job

is the same act but may carry more abrupt or punitive sense
to let go
vsto sack someone
852 3.8

To stop employing someone so they lose their job

is similar but usually involves more abruptness and penalty
to kick out
vsto sack someone
512 3.0

Force someone to leave a place or group

is alike but typically used specifically for job punishment
to throw out
vsto sack someone
236 3.0

To force someone to leave a place, job, or group

is similar but usually implies a sharper, punitive action
to discharge
vsto sack someone
  • Formal
100 4.4

Officially release someone from a duty, job, or responsibility

is comparable but often denotes quicker, punitive removal from work
to terminate
vsto sack someone
  • Formal
90 5.5

To make someone stop working for a company

is like this but often stresses abruptness or penalty rather than formality
to lay off
vsto sack someone
87 3.3

Stop employing someone because the company cannot afford them, not because of bad work

is different because it stresses penalty and sudden removal instead
to dismiss
vsto sack someone
70 3.3

To remove someone from their job

is similar but usually highlights sudden punishment in practice
to force out
vsto sack someone
46 4.4

To make someone leave a job by pressure or threats

is similar but often implies a quicker, penal dismissal
to send away
vsto sack someone
43 3.0

Make someone leave a job or group because of a problem

is more abrupt and punitive, showing sudden job removal
to sack
vsto sack someone
  • UK
37 3.5

To make someone leave their job

is similar but often more abrupt and punitive in action
to can
vsto sack someone
  • Informal
33 7.7

To fire someone from their job in informal speech

is similar but often carries a sharper, punitive suddenness
to boot out
vsto sack someone
  • Informal
15 5.8

Force someone to leave a job or organization suddenly

is similar but often highlights dismissal as punishment or penalty
to give (someone) the boot
vsto sack someone
  • Informal
12 7.4

To stop someone from working at their job, usually because of bad work or behavior

is the same idea but often implies harsher sudden action
to send packing
vsto sack someone
  • Informal
8 6.5

To make someone leave quickly to show they are not wanted

is similar but often used specifically for employment dismissal
to send someone packing
vsto sack someone
  • Informal
4 7.9

Make someone leave quickly and forcefully

is much the same but often focuses on job punishment
to give notice
vsto sack someone
  • Formal
2 4.1

Formally tell an employee that their job will end

is the same outcome but often happens abruptly without prior notice
to kick-out
vsto sack someone
1 4.0

To force someone to leave a place, group or job

is similar but often stresses employment and penalty context
to turf out
vsto sack someone
  • UK
1 8.2

Force someone to leave a place or job

is similar but often refers more directly to job punishment
to give (someone) the sack
vsto sack someone
  • UK
1 5.2

To make someone leave their job, often as punishment or during job cuts

is similar yet often implies punitive suddenness more strongly
to give the sack
vsto sack someone
  • UK
5.9

To tell someone they must leave their job

is comparable but often used to stress abrupt penalty
to give the axe
vsto sack someone
  • UK
7.4

To suddenly end someone's job or a relationship, often without warning

is similar but stresses abrupt dismissal as a penalty

Antonyms

to hire
∞ 1.4

To give someone a job and pay them for their work

to retain
236 3.4

To keep having something such as a job or possession

How Harsh

to sack someone
  • UK
4.8
to dismiss
70 3.3
to let go
852 3.8
to lay off
87 3.3

Surface Forms

sack someone infinitive
sacked someone past
sacked someone past participle
sacking someone present participle
sacks someone third person singular

Morphology

sack + someone

The verb 'sack' is listed with the meaning 'to terminate someone's employment', so combining it with 'someone' yields the MWE meaning directly without any idiomatic shift. This verb + object construction is compositional and parallels common patterns in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.

Etymology

Sack someone may come from the old image of a worker being given a small sack with their things and sent away; one popular story says employers put a person's tools or belongings in a bag when they were fired. That's why sack someone now means 'to dismiss someone' or 'to fire them'.