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hit the sack

to go to bed

In Idioms & Sayings

In more detail

(idiom) to go to bed; to sleep

Examples

• After a long day at work, I was ready to hit the sack.

How to use hit the sack

Hit the sack is a casual, friendly idiom meaning to go to bed, often used when someone is tired or ready to sleep. It appears in informal conversation and is particularly common in American English. The tone is lighthearted and conversational rather than literary or formal.

Register: informal

Common phrases

• hit the sack early
• hit the sack tonight
• hit the sack after a long day
• ready to hit the sack
• time to hit the sack

Synonyms

go to bed · hit the hay · turn in · catch some sleep · get some shut-eye

Opposites

wake up · get up · rise

A common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse this with 'hit the hay,' which is a near-synonym but slightly more old-fashioned; they are not quite identical in frequency or register.

Nearby in Idioms & Sayings

beat around the bush, once in a blue moon, the tip of the iceberg

Keep going

How to remember the words you read · Spaced repetition, explained