sad sack

noun

US, informal
: a blundering, inept person
… a sad sack so unlucky in love that when his girlfriend splits, his family sides with her.Rand Richards Cooper
sad-sack adjective

Examples of sad sack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Those suspects include the bartender (Gabrielle Ryan), a sad sack of a man on a blind date (Reed Diamond), an imperious hostess (Sarah McCormack), and an unctuous, boozy piano player (Ed Weeks). Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 10 Mar. 2025 Just look at what happened on Palau, where the Koror tribe beat the sad sack Ulong team in every single immunity challenge until there was only one poor Ulong member left (Stephenie LaGrossa). Dalton Ross, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2025 Before Jonathan died, Nancy already was a sad sack. Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024 Over the years, her songs have portrayed her as a bright-eyed romantic searching for The One but continually getting disappointed by men—shifty playboys or taciturn sad sacks—who don’t meet her standards. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for sad sack

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sad sack was in 1942

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Cite this Entry

“Sad sack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sad%20sack. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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