noun

1. apparatus; equipment; gear fishing tackle
2. a rope and pulley block, or a system of ropes and pulleys, used to lower, raise, or move various objects
3. the act or an instance of tackling, as in football
4. ☆ Football
   in full tackle football
   1. an offensive lineman who is primarily a blocker, usually positioned just outside an offensive guard
   2. a defensive lineman usually positioned near the offensive center
   3. a type of football in which the defensive players tackle the ballcarrier
5. Naut.
   1. Archaic a ship's rigging
   2. later, the running rigging and pulleys to operate the sails

Etymology: ME takel < MDu, pulley, rope, equipment in general, prob. akin to MLowG tacken, to touch, press, ? akin to take

transitive verb tackled tack′·led, tackling tack′·ling

1. to fasten by means of tackle
2. to harness (a horse)
3. to take hold of; seize
4. 1. to undertake to do or solve (something difficult) to tackle a job
   2. to deal with (a difficult person)
5. Football to stop (an opponent carrying the ball), esp. by knocking or throwing to the ground
6. to knock or throw to the ground a policeman tackled the fleeing robber

intransitive verb

1. Football to stop an opponent who is carrying the ball, esp. by knocking or throwing the opponent to the ground
2. to knock or throw someone to the ground