slack

[ slak ]

/ slæk /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR slack ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not tight, taut, firm, or tense; loose: a slack rope.

negligent; careless; remiss: slack proofreading.

slow, sluggish, or indolent: He is slack in answering letters.

not active or busy; dull; not brisk: the slack season in an industry.

moving very slowly, as the tide, wind, or water.

weak; lax.

Nautical. easy(def 15a).

adverb

in a slack manner.

noun

a slack condition or part.

the part of a rope, sail, or the like, that hangs loose, without strain upon it.

a decrease in activity, as in business or work: a sudden slack in output.

a period of decreased activity.

Geography. a cessation in a strong flow, as of a current at its turn.

a depression between hills, in a hillside, or in the land surface.

Prosody. (in sprung rhythm) the unaccented syllable or syllables.

British Dialect. a morass; marshy ground; a hollow or dell with soft, wet ground at the bottom.

verb (used with object)

to be remiss in respect to (some matter, duty, right, etc.); shirk; leave undone: He slacked the most important part.

to make or allow to become less active, vigorous, intense, etc.; relax (efforts, labor, speed, etc.); lessen; moderate (often followed by up).

to make loose, or less tense or taut, as a rope; loosen (often followed by off or out).

to slake (lime).

verb (used without object)

to be remiss; shirk one's duty or part.

to become less active, vigorous, rapid, etc. (often followed by up): Business is slacking up.

to become less tense or taut, as a rope; to ease off.

to become slaked, as lime.

Idioms for slack

take up the 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.

Origin of slack

before 900; Middle English slac (adj.), Old English sleac, slæc; cognate with Old Norse slakr, Old High German slach, Latin laxus lax

SYNONYMS FOR slack

1 relaxed.

2 lazy, weak.

3 dilatory, tardy, late.

4 idle, quiet.

11 slowing, relaxation.

17 neglect.

18 reduce, slacken.

21 malinger.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR slack ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM slack

slack·ing·ly, adverb slack·ly, adverb slack·ness, noun un·slacked, adjective

un·slack·ing, adjective

Words nearby slack

slab top, slab track, slab-sided, slabber, slabbery, slack, slack off, slack suit, slack water, slack-baked, slack-jawed

British Dictionary definitions for slack off (1 of 2)

slack ¹

/ (slæk) /

adjective

not tight, tense, or taut

negligent or careless

(esp of water, etc) moving slowly

(of trade, etc) not busy

phonetics another term for lax (def. 4)

adverb

in a slack manner

noun

a part of a rope, etc, that is slack take in the slack

a period of decreased activity

a patch of water without current
a slackening of a current

prosody (in sprung rhythm) the unstressed syllable or syllables

verb

to neglect (one's duty, etc)

(often foll by off) to loosen; to make slack

chem a less common word for slake (def. 3)

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 off (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

Idioms and Phrases with slack off

slack off

Decrease in activity or intensity, as in If business ever slacks off we can go on vacation, or When the project fell behind schedule again, she thought we were slacking off. [Second half of 1800s]

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

slack

adjective

adverb

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for slack

Origin of slack

SYNONYMS FOR slack

OTHER WORDS FROM slack

Words nearby slack

British Dictionary definitions for slack off (1 of 2)

adjective

adverb

noun

verb

Derived forms of slack

Word Origin for slack

British Dictionary definitions for slack off (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for slack

Idioms and Phrases with slack off

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

slack

adjective

adverb

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for slack

Origin of slack

SYNONYMS FOR slack

OTHER WORDS FROM slack

Words nearby slack

Words related to slack off

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for slack off (1 of 2)

adjective

adverb

noun

verb

Derived forms of slack

Word Origin for slack

British Dictionary definitions for slack off (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for slack

Idioms and Phrases with slack off

British Dictionary definitions for slack off (1 of 2)