noun
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coarse cloth such as sacking
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garments made of such cloth, worn formerly to indicate mourning or penitence
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a public display of extreme grief, remorse, or repentance
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sackcloth
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at sack 1, cloth
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One common answer notes that sackcloth and ashes have been since biblical times a sign of repentance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
"I don't think he should do sackcloth and ashes, I think that's overdoing it," she told a Sky News podcast.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2024
Young men in dark suits danced in front, carrying a metal pole with a heart-shaped standard that had been wrapped in sackcloth, doused in kerosene and set alight.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2020
Please understand, I’m not a wraith in sackcloth among the tinseled brides of fortune.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2019
There are the tone cults, of course, dressing in sackcloth and worshiping sonic vibrations—but like so many things in our world, they seek to imitate what once was.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
