hardtack

[ hahrd-tak ]
See synonyms for hardtack on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a hard, saltless biscuit, formerly much used aboard ships and for army rations.

Origin of hardtack

1
First recorded in 1830–40; hard + tack2

Words Nearby hardtack

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hardtack in a sentence

  • Just then Jacks came to the opening of the notch, and set down a tin cup of coffee and a plate of soaked hardtack and fried bacon.

  • "We give both hands full—coffee, sugar, hardtack," and Bruce illustrated as he spoke.

    Warrior Gap | Charles King
  • In ten minutes, with coffee, sugar and hardtack in their hands, the sergeant and his comrades were back at the front.

    Warrior Gap | Charles King

British Dictionary definitions for hardtack (1 of 2)

hardtack

/ (ˈhɑːdˌtæk) /


noun
  1. a kind of hard saltless biscuit, formerly eaten esp by sailors as a staple aboard ship: Also called: pilot biscuit, ship's biscuit, sea biscuit

British Dictionary definitions for hard tack (2 of 2)

hard tack

noun
  1. Irish informal whisky

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012