sake

¹ American  

[seyk] / seɪk /

noun

1. cause, account, interest, or benefit.

   for the sake of all students.

   Synonyms:

   respect, consideration, regard

2. purpose or end.

   for the sake of appearances.

   Synonyms:

   reason

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sake ² American  

[sah-kee] / ˈsɑ ki /

Or saké,

noun

1. a Japanese fermented, mildly alcoholic beverage made from rice.

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sake ¹ British  

/ seɪk /

noun

1. benefit or interest (esp in the phrase for ( someone's or one's own ) sake )

2. the purpose of obtaining or achieving (esp in the phrase for the sake of ( something ))

3. used in various exclamations of impatience, urgency, etc

   for heaven's sake

   for pete's sake

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sake ² British  

/ ˈsækɪ /

noun

1. a Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice

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sake Idioms  

1. see for the sake of.

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Etymology

Origin of sake¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English sacu “lawsuit, cause”; cognate with German Sache “thing,” Old Norse sǫk “lawsuit”; akin to seek

Origin of sake²

First recorded in 1680–90; from Japanese sake; compare Okinawan saki

Explanation

Sake means the purpose for doing something. You might run a fund-raising marathon for the sake of sick children. Sake comes from the old English term for "affair," or "cause of guilt." We usually use sake to talk about the motivating cause of something we do. You might study hard for the sake of your grades. But then again, you might blow off your studies for the sake of having fun. Spelled the same way, but pronounced SAH-key, sake is also the name of a Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sake

I still think City will find a way though, and they need to for the sake of the title race.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

For the sake of argument, let’s take Altman and Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei at their word.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

“Art made for the making of art’s sake is like a beautiful, productive thing,” he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

I ground my teeth at his every appearance; for Ruthie’s sake, I wanted him gone, and she isn’t real, either.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

“Which part of that order is unclear? And for heaven’s sake, keep her quiet until you get back.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• well-being