Idioms for slack
- to pull in or make taut a loose section of a rope, line, wire, etc.: Take up the slack before releasing the kite.
- to provide or compensate for something that is missing or incomplete: New sources of oil will take up the slack resulting from the embargo.
take up the slack,
Origin of slack
1
before 900; Middle English
slac (adj.), Old English
sleac, slæc; cognate with Old Norse
slakr, Old High German
slach, Latin
laxus
lax
OTHER WORDS FROM slack
Words nearby slack
slab top,
slab track,
slab-sided,
slabber,
slabbery,
slack,
slack off,
slack suit,
slack water,
slack-baked,
slack-jawed
Definition for slack (2 of 2)
slack
2
[ slak ]
/ slæk /
noun
the fine screenings of coal.
Origin of slack
2
1400–50; late Middle English
sleck < Middle Dutch
slacke,
slecke
Example sentences from the Web for slack
British Dictionary definitions for slack (1 of 2)
See also
slacks
Derived forms of slack
slackly, adverb slackness, nounWord Origin for slack
Old English
slæc, sleac; related to Old High German
slah, Old Norse
slākr bad, Latin
laxus
lax
British Dictionary definitions for slack (2 of 2)
slack
2
/ (slæk) /
noun
small pieces of coal with a high ash content
Word Origin for slack
C15: probably from Middle Low German
slecke; related to Dutch
slak, German
Schlacke dross