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sake

n. uncountable
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈseɪk// sake

n. the purpose or benefit of something. You usually use it when you do an action to help a person or to reach a specific goal.

n. the purpose, benefit, or interest of a person or entity. Typically used within prepositional phrases to indicate the motivation for an action.


SIMPLE

I am doing this for your own sake.

CONTEXTUAL

The couple decided to stay together for the sake of their children until they finished school.

COMPLEX

The government argued that the temporary restrictions were necessary for the sake of national security, despite concerns regarding individual privacy rights.

Synonyms
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.

Usage

Almost exclusively used in the construction 'for the sake of' or 'for [possessive]'s sake'.

Pitfall

for the sake to helpfor the sake of helpingThe noun 'sake' is followed by the preposition 'of' and a noun or gerund, not a to-infinitive.

Idioms6 entries

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