ENGLISH
REFERENCE

sake

n.
US //ˈseɪk// sake
  1. 1 benefit or well-being (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    the benefit, advantage, or well-being of a person or thing.

    the benefit, advantage, or interest of a particular person or entity; almost exclusively used in the construction 'for the sake of' or 'for someone's sake'.

    Example

    They moved to the countryside for the sake of their children's health.

    Example

    The couple decided to maintain a civil relationship for the sake of their shared business interests, despite their personal differences.

    Usage

    Usually follows 'for' and is followed by 'of', or follows a possessive noun/pronoun.
  2. 2 purpose or reason (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the reason or purpose for doing something.

    the purpose, motive, or end goal of an action.

    Example

    He didn't want to argue just for the sake of arguing.

    Example

    The artist refused to add decorative elements for the sake of mere ornamentation, preferring a strictly functional aesthetic.

    Usage

    Commonly used in the phrase 'for the sake of it' to mean doing something without a serious reason.
  3. 3 emphasis or emotion (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    used in phrases to show you are annoyed, surprised, or want to emphasize something.

    used in various exclamatory phrases to express impatience, annoyance, or urgency.

    Example

    For goodness' sake, please turn down that loud music.

    Example

    For heaven's sake, we have been waiting for over an hour and the train still hasn't arrived.

    Usage

    Appears in fixed expressions like 'for God's sake', 'for heaven's sake', or 'for Pete's sake'.

  4. 4 Japanese rice wine (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Cooking

    a Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice.

    a Japanese alcoholic beverage produced by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran.

    Example

    We ordered a bottle of warm sake to go with our sushi dinner.

    Example

    The sommelier explained the differences between various grades of premium sake, noting the impact of rice polishing ratios on the final flavour profile.

    Usage

    Often spelled 'saké' or 'saki' to distinguish it from the English word for 'benefit'.
    • rice wine
Origin

From Middle English sake (“sake, cause”), from Old English sacu (“cause, lawsuit, legal action, complaint, issue, dispute”), from Proto-West Germanic saku, from Proto-Germanic sakō (“affair, thing, charge, accusation, matter”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to investigate”). Akin to West Frisian saak (“cause; business”), Low German Saak, Dutch zaak (“matter; cause; business”), German Sache (“thing; matter; cause; legal cause”), Danish sag, Swedish and Norwegian sak, Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌾𐍉 (sakjō, “dispute, argument”), Old English sōcn (“inquiry, prosecution”), Old English sēcan (“to seek”). More at soke, soken, seek.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family
Idioms6 entries

Last updated June 19, 2026