Idioms for slack

    take up the slack,
    1. to pull in or make taut a loose section of a rope, line, wire, etc.: Take up the slack before releasing the kite.
    2. to provide or compensate for something that is missing or incomplete: New sources of oil will take up the slack resulting from the embargo.

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

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, noun

Word 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