You searched for: “sacking
sack (verb), sacks; sacked; sacking
1. To pack or to place something in a bag: Marven was hired one summer to sack grain at a farm.
2. To rob, to loot, or to pillage: The invaders sacked the village of anything of value.

The expression to sack, meaning "to loot", comes from the use of sacks by looters as a convenient means of carrying away their stolen goods.

This entry is located in the following unit: English Words in Action, Group S (page 1)