What does "sacked" mean?
What it means: To be dismissed from a job - fired."He got sacked for being repeatedly late.""She was sacked without warning.""The manager was sacked after the scandal.""They sacked ten people in one day."Register: British informal to neutral. Sacked is the everyday British term; Americans say fir...
What it means
To be dismissed from a job - fired.
"He got sacked for being repeatedly late."
"She was sacked without warning."
"The manager was sacked after the scandal."
"They sacked ten people in one day."
Register
British informal to neutral. Sacked is the everyday British term; Americans say fired. Sacked appears in newspapers, casual conversation, and even professional discussions.
Get the sack
The noun form - to receive dismissal:
"He got the sack after three warnings."
"She was given the sack."
Give someone the sack
To fire someone:
"The company gave 200 employees the sack."
Historical origin
Workers used to carry their tools in a bag (sack). Being dismissed meant taking your sack and leaving.
A native would say
- "Fired" - American and increasingly British
- "Let go" - euphemistic: "She was let go last month."
- "Made redundant" - when the role is eliminated (not the person's fault) - this is legally distinct from being sacked
- "Dismissed" - formal, legal register
- "Booted out" - informal, implies abruptness
What does "sacked" mean?
To be dismissed from a job - fired.
"He got sacked for being repeatedly late."
"She was sacked without warning."
"The manager was sacked after the scandal."
"They sacked ten people in one day."
Is "sacked" formal or informal?
British informal to neutral. Sacked is the everyday British term; Americans say fired. Sacked appears in newspapers, casual conversation, and even professional discussions.
What's another way to say "sacked"?
- "Fired" - American and increasingly British
- "Let go" - euphemistic: "She was let go last month."
- "Made redundant" - when the role is eliminated (not the person's fault) - this is legally distinct from being sacked
- "Dismissed" - formal, legal register
- "Booted out" - informal, implies abruptness
More British slang throwing you off?
LLH Tutor breaks down British expressions like this one so you're never guessing what a colleague or friend actually meant.
Save to your vocabulary