slack
1slow, 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.
Phonetics. weak; lax.
Nautical. easy (def. 15a).
in a slack manner.
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.
to be remiss in respect to (some matter, duty, right, etc.); leave undone; shirk: He slacked the most important part.
to make loose, or less tense or taut, as a rope; loosen (often followed by off or out).
to slake (lime).
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 about 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
1Other words for slack
| 1 | relaxed |
| 2 | lax, lazy, thoughtless |
| 3 | dilatory, tardy, listless |
| 4 | idle, quiet |
| 11 | slowing, relaxation |
| 17 | neglect |
| 18 | reduce, slacken |
| 21 | malinger |
Other words from slack
- slack·ing·ly, adverb
- slackly, adverb
- slackness, noun
- un·slacked, adjective
- un·slack·ing, adjective
Words Nearby slack
Other definitions for slack (2 of 2)
the fine screenings of coal.
Origin of slack
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use slack in a sentence
Restrictions on overtime pay under DeJoy may have prevented full-time workers at some facilities from adding hours to pick up some of the slack.
Poorly Protected Postal Workers Are Catching COVID-19 by the Thousands. It’s One More Threat to Voting by Mail. | by Maryam Jameel and Ryan McCarthy | September 18, 2020 | ProPublicaWhere money and technology fail, though, it inevitably falls to government policies — and government subsidies — to pick up the slack.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration | by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut | September 15, 2020 | ProPublicaWhen the BLS lists workers by full- or part-time status, they also track whether that status is due to economic reasons — like a slowdown in that industry or a slack job market — or noneconomic reasons.
The Easy Part Of The Economic Recovery Might Be Over | Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux | September 4, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightUnderlings gave Clark, who has worked at Amazon during almost all of his career, that moniker after he told them that early in his tenure he would hide in the shadows at warehouses seeking to catch lazy workers slacking off who he could fire.
Who is Dave Clark, the new chief of Amazon’s giant retail business? | Aaron Pressman | August 22, 2020 | FortuneWith Gaspar’s low fundraising total, for instance, the conservative Lincoln Club that supports her might consider picking up the slack to help her stay competitive.
Politics Report: Bry, Lawson-Remer Dominate Fundraising | Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts | August 8, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
He knew I was a Chicago guy, and he cut me absolutely no slack.
Bill Murray’s Words of Wisdom: On Comedy, the Greatness of In-N-Out, and Searching For Great Love | Marlow Stern | October 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo the contrary: since the 2011 ouster of Gaddafi, the world has cut Libya a lot of slack.
It’s Not the USA that Made Libya the Disaster it is Today | Ann Marlowe | August 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnswering a question from fellow Foxer Geraldo Rivera—does the right-leaning network cut President Obama enough slack?
Other women can often be the worst at cutting any slack towards the love interest in a sex scandal.
At the same time, I cut myself slack, because my creative reach went beyond my skill level.
How ‘Transcendence’ Director Wally Pfister Became Christopher Nolan’s Secret Weapon | Andrew Romano | April 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAn amount of slack in the chain caused the balls to knock on passing this roller before entering the pump bottom.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickI went into the dugout indescribably slack; hardly energy to struggle against the heat and the myriads of flies.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonLost Sister had fashioned a rude litter out of rawhide and two saplings, slack between the poles so the girl could not roll out.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh PendexterHis crew soon produced from the slack of their frocks pieces of plug, which they passed on board in exchange for our eggs.
At length I gave up the contest, led him with a slack rein, and pulled no longer.
British Dictionary definitions for slack (1 of 2)
/ (slæk) /
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)
in a slack manner
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
to neglect (one's duty, etc)
(often foll by off) to loosen; to make slack
chem a less common word for slake (def. 3)
Origin of slack
1- See also slacks
Derived forms of slack
- slackly, adverb
- slackness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for slack (2 of 2)
/ (slæk) /
small pieces of coal with a high ash content
Origin of slack
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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