slack
1 Americanadjective
-
not tight, taut, firm, or tense;
a slack rope.
- Synonyms:
- relaxed
-
slack proofreading.
- Synonyms:
- thoughtless, lazy, lax
-
slow, 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.
adverb
noun
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- relaxation
-
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.
verb (used with object)
-
to be remiss in respect to (some matter, duty, right, etc.); leave undone; shirk.
He slacked the most important part.
- Synonyms:
- neglect
-
to make or allow to become less active, vigorous, intense, etc.; relax (efforts, labor, speed, etc.); lessen; moderate (often followed byup ).
-
to make loose, or less tense or taut, as a rope; loosen (often followed by off orout ).
-
to slake (lime).
verb (used without object)
-
to be remiss; shirk one's duty or part.
- Synonyms:
- malinger
-
to become less active, vigorous, rapid, etc. (often followed byup ).
Business is slacking up.
-
to become less tense or taut, as a rope; to ease off.
-
to become slaked, as lime.
idioms
noun
adjective
-
not tight, tense, or taut
-
negligent or careless
-
(esp of water, etc) moving slowly
-
(of trade, etc) not busy
-
phonetics another term for lax
adverb
noun
-
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
verb
-
to neglect (one's duty, etc)
-
(often foll by off) to loosen; to make slack
-
chem a less common word for slake
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slacksimple
-
slackssimple
-
have slackedperfect
-
has slackedperfect
-
am slackingprogressive
-
are slackingprogressive
-
is slackingprogressive
-
have been slackingperfect progressive
-
has been slackingperfect progressive
Past
-
slackedsimple
-
had slackedperfect
-
was slackingprogressive
-
were slackingprogressive
-
had been slackingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slack1
First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective slak(e), slakke, Old English slæc, sleac; cognate with Old Norse slakr, Old High German slach, Latin laxus lax
Origin of slack2
First recorded in 1200–50; of uncertain origin; compare Middle English sleck “mud, slush, stony soil,” Flemish slecke, Middle Dutch slacke, slecke, Dutch slak, Low German slak(ke), German Schlacke “dross (of metal)”
Explanation
If you slow down at the end of a race, you slack off. When you use slack this way, it means to reduce your speed, to be sluggish, or to be negligent. If something is loose, it's also said to be slack. A clothesline, for example, is slack if it is just hanging loosely between two trees. If you pull the clothesline tight, you reduce the slack. The root word of slack is the Old English word slæc, which means "loose or careless." When you scold your friend for being careless about his responsibilities, you can say, "Pick up the slack!"
Vocabulary lists containing slack
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As the tech sector has struggled, other corners of the market have picked up the slack.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Some cut the manager some slack by saying the players, though hard-working and fiercely determined, are over-praised and over-rated at this level.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
With Luka Doncic out and LeBron James exhausted, the Lakers desperately needed Reaves to pick up the slack.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Still, Wall Street seems to be willing to cut Warsh some slack as he tries to sort through things.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
I tapped him on his shoulder and he jerked his head up, slack spilling out of his nose.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
That realisation manifests in the lovestruck slacker rock of Dragonfly, and the finger-plucked Neptune Baby, with its refrain, "I'm a boat, and you are the water".
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2025
It demonstrated the actor’s range, but Amos began to sour on the show as he felt the focus shifting to the low comic antics of Jimmie Walker as slacker son J.J.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2024
DB, a slacker pool cleaner with eyes the same cerulean shade as the chlorinated body of water he tends to with an almost religious ecstasy.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2024
Ripley, a slacker and a con man grinding out a living in postwar New York, is sent to Italy to try to persuade a trust-funded idler to come home and take over the family business.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
McCandless wasn’t some feckless slacker, adrift and confused, racked by existential despair.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
The UK has the slackest regulation of all EU members; other member states are much more stringent in their approach.
From The Guardian ● May 24, 2013
It was the most abstract and highly changeable concert I’ve seen this group perform, and also the slackest: inspired on one level, frustrating on another.
From New York Times ● Feb. 10, 2011
Drew was allowed to indulge in that slackest kind of writing, the day-by-day journal.
From Time Magazine Archive
In any year it would have been a tasteful, artful job of the soft sell, but in this, television's slackest season, the Eastern Airlines commercial looked like a masterwork.
From Time Magazine Archive
Hunting parties were common, cricket and hockey matches were frequent, and in the cold weather, which is our slackest season, fun, frolic, and sport was the order of the day.
From Sport and Work on the Nepaul Frontier Twelve Years Sporting Reminiscences of an Indigo Planter by Inglis, James
He stopped by the birthday party wearing his work uniform: a white, button-down shirt and black slacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
A styling group stores troves of neutral tone crew and V-neck sweaters, button-down shirts, slacks and extra pairs of the Silver Lining Opticians “Carbon” glasses at an off-site building, current and former employees said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Eugene Levert, chain-smoking next to a stack of books while wearing a vertical blue-striped button-down and khaki slacks, looked the scholarly mirror of Doug Lamplugh, in a horizontal blue-striped polo and khaki shorts.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
Still, James insisted that headquarters employees dress a cut above business casual, requiring jackets and slacks for men.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025
He followed them up to the blue slacks and the sharp uniform shirt his mother wore.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Speaking to the press, he said: "I've given my heart and soul. I can't think there'll be too many cricket fans out there who would think I've slacked off for a moment."
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2023
It's not as if Eigenberg ever slacked off in maintaining his physique; he also plays a main role in "Chicago Fire."
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2023
"We were just active on defense. When they had their runs, we slacked off," Brooks said.
From Fox News ● Nov. 19, 2021
One day, one of my lab mates slacked me a link to this Facebook group, and that was when it all started.
From Slate ● May 13, 2020
When the wind slacked off, 1 could hear the coyotes howling.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
I’ve heard it repeatedly from experts: The greatest risk of working out alone is bad form, leading to inefficient movement, slacking off and higher chance of injury.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 4, 2026
With her apartment a flood zone and her landlord slacking off on the maintenance, Linda and her daughter are forced to live at a nearby hotel.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2025
Florida’s experience isn’t an endorsement of slacking at the start of the year, something the Washington Capitals learned from their playoff streak ending.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 1, 2023
Still, he has a dream to chase and he’s not going to catch it by slacking off.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2023
It’s crazy, but instead of that whole experience pushing me to train even harder, I began slacking off in practice.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
