slack
slack (slak)
adjective
- slow; idle; sluggish
- barely moving: said of a current, as of air or water
- characterized by little work, trade, or business; not busy or active; dull a slack period
- loose; relaxed; not tight, taut, or firm
- easily changed or influenced; weak; lax
- careless or negligent a slack workman
Etymology: ME slakke < OE slæc, akin to Du slak < IE base *(s)lēg-, loose, slack > L laxus, lax
transitive verb
- to make slack; slacken
- to slake
intransitive verb
- to be or become slack; slacken
- to be idle, careless, or negligent
adverb
in a slack manner; so as to be slack
noun
- a part that is slack or hangs loose
- a lack of tension or tautness; looseness
- a stoppage of movement in a current
- a dull period; lull
cut someone some slack
Slang to be less demanding of someone; ease up on someone
slack off
to slacken
slack up
to go more slowly
slack (slak)
noun
a mixture of small pieces of coal, coal dust, and dirt left from the screening of coal
Etymology: ME sleck, akin to Fl slecke, dross, Du slak: for IE base see slay
slack (slak)
noun
- a small valley
- a bog; morass
Etymology: ME slak < ON *slakki < IE base *slēk, wet, sprinkle
slack
modif.
Converse of object
- wear: He wears elderly golf slacks; she in a brown, old-lady skirt.
- go: They can go slack then come under tension without warning.
- leave: However, we were flying out first thing, which left no slack for the rescue mission.
- grow: Was it when you grew slack in your attendance at the place of worship?
Adjective modifier
- humid: Humid dune slacks with an interesting flora are well-developed in the northern section where they often form marshy areas or pools.
- damp: There maybe several parallel ridges of old dunes separated by low-lying damp slacks.
- wet: Wet slack, with the water table never more than 1m ( 3 ' ) below the surface.
- enough: Other systems use an open ended turning block mounted on the deck - see figure 1 - to generate enough slack.
- little: Fragment - " Trapped " I realize my blogging's been a little slack of late.
- black: Bruno arrives, a loose-fitting shirt hanging on his still considerable frame outside black slacks.
Modifies a noun
- adjuster: All of the above-named undertakings were engaged in the supply of the MEI brand of automatic slack adjuster.
- tide: The plan was for the majority of the fleets Solent based boats, to take advantage of the slack tide off the Needles.
- vegetation: North Northumberland Dunes Northumberland North Northumberland Dunes represents a rare example of well-developed dune slack vegetation on the east coast of England.
- dive: The area is swept by strong tidal currents making this site a slack water dive.
- rope: You are not far above the ground and with slack rope and spring - a collision with the uneven rocky floor is not unlikely.
- water: Even heading through at slack water there is always a sense of menace!
Followed by an intransitive particle
- off: Waiting in the bottom chamber for the flood tide to slack off.
Preposition: in
- economy: Obviously a time could come when there is sufficient slack in the economy on any basis and some stimulus might be in order.
Noun used with modifier
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back; Guilty of dust and sin. But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack From my first entrance in, Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning If I lacked any thing.
Browse dictionary entries near slack
- slabber
- slab-sided
- slab
- SLA
- sláinte
- skywriting
- skyway
- skywave
- skyward
- skywalk
- slack-baked
- slack down or off or up
- slack water
- slacken
- slacker
- slacks
- slag
- slain
- slake
- slalom
