hardtack

[hahrd-tak]

noun

1. a hard, hard, saltless biscuit, formerly much used aboard ships and for army rations.

hardtack

/ ˈhɑːdˌtæk /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardtack¹

First recorded in 1830–40; hard + tack ²

Example Sentences

Why would they live like this for salt beef, hardtack, and twelve dollars a month?

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We lunched on the small amount of smoked fish and seaman’s hardtack we had bought at a souvenir shop and drank water.

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Wartime museums display the bland hardtack that sustained Civil War fighters, and the canned meats, breads and fruit of World War II, known as C rations.

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European sailors relied on an early form of biscuit called hardtack on the journey to North America.

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In one particularly poignant scene, Joseph decides to make a sculpture out of hardtack biscuits.

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Related Words

• biscuit 
• cookie 
• pretzel