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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As if that weren’t enough, Jérémie seems to be quite taken with Walter (David Ayala), a portly, reclusive sad sack of a man living on the outskirts of town. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025 The nephew of Back to the Future (1985) star Christopher Lloyd, Sam Lloyd was featured on shows like 3rd Rock From the Sun and Bill Lawrence's Spin City before playing the lovable sad sack Ted on Scrubs. James Mercadante, EW.com, 21 July 2025 There are dozens upon dozens of memorable eccentrics, delusional antiheroes, blustery authority figures, sad sacks, screw-ups and all-too-lovable schmucks that populate the 12 feature films and handful of shorts directed by Wes Anderson. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2025 The Slip concerns sixteen-year-old Nathaniel Rothstein, a dumpy sad sack who, after getting into a fight at school, is sent to live with his uncle in Austin for the summer of 1998. Lucas Schaefer june 13, Literary Hub, 13 June 2025 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 23 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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