Meanings
- UKhistoricaluncountableWork done by tailors on soldiers' clothes.
[…] even some of the 'honourable' men were reduced to this sweated 'sank work' for as little as 4s. to 6s. a week.
2002, John Burnett, Idle Hands: The Experience of Unemployment, 1790-1990, page 841 more example
Many master tailors keep more hands than they have employment for, especially in the slack. But no work means no pay. Some of those journeymen can't pay their bills and take home 'sank work' of custom-house and post clothing.
2017, Darlene A. Cypser, The Consulting Detective Trilogy Part II: On Stage, page 48
Origin
Perhaps from the Old French sanc (“blood”), in allusion either to combat or to soldiers' red coats.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
sank work. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sank%20work
“sank work.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sank%20work. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sank work,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sank%20work.
Source: sank work on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.