slack

[ slak ]

/ slæk /

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See synonyms for: slack / slacked / slacker / slacking on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not tight, taut, firm, or tense; a slack rope.

negligent; careless; remiss: slack proofreading.

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 (def. 15a).

adverb

in a slack manner.

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.

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.

to make or allow to become less active, vigorous, intense, etc.; relax (efforts, labor, speed, etc.); lessen; moderate (often followed by up).

to make loose, or less tense or taut, as a rope; loosen (often followed by off or out).

to slake (lime).

verb (used without object)

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.

OTHER 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.

See synonyms for slack on Thesaurus.com

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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

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

OTHER WORDS FROM slack

slack·ing·ly, adverbslackly, adverbslackness, nounun·slacked, adjective

un·slack·ing, adjective

Words nearby slack

slab dashing, slab plastering, slab-sided, slab top, slab track, slack, slack-baked, slacken, slacker, slack-jawed, slack-key

Other definitions for slack (2 of 2)

slack²

[ slak ]

/ slæk /

noun

the fine screenings of coal.

Origin of slack

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)”

Dictionary.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|ProPublica
Where 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|ProPublica
When 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|FiveThirtyEight
Underlings 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|Fortune

With 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|DAILY BEAST
To 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|DAILY BEAST
Answering a question from fellow Foxer Geraldo Rivera—does the right-leaning network cut President Obama enough slack?
Bill O’Reilly Disses His Fellow Fox Newsers|Lloyd Grove|June 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Other women can often be the worst at cutting any slack towards the love interest in a sex scandal.
How Monica Lewinsky Changed the Media|Tina Brown|May 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
An 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 Trevithick
I went into the dugout indescribably slack; hardly energy to struggle against the heat and the myriads of flies.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Lost 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 Pendexter
His crew soon produced from the slack of their frocks pieces of plug, which they passed on board in exchange for our eggs.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
At length I gave up the contest, led him with a slack rein, and pulled no longer.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, Number 414, April, 1850|Various

British Dictionary definitions for slack (1 of 2)

slack¹

/ (slæk) /

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 (def. 4)

adverb

in a slack manner

noun

a part of a rope, etc, that is slacktake 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 (def. 3)

Derived forms of slack

slackly, adverbslackness, noun

Word Origin for slack

Old English slæc, sleac; related to Old High German slah, Old Norse slākr bad, Latin laxus lax

British Dictionary definitions for slack (2 of 2)

slack²

/ (slæk) /

noun

small pieces of coal with a high ash content

Word Origin for slack

C15: probably from Middle Low German slecke; related to Dutch slak, German Schlacke dross

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

slack

OTHER WORDS FOR slack

Idioms about slack

Origin of slack

OTHER WORDS FROM slack

Words nearby slack

Other definitions for slack (2 of 2)

Origin of slack

Words related to slack

How to use slack in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for slack (1 of 2)

Derived forms of slack

Word Origin for slack

British Dictionary definitions for slack (2 of 2)

Word Origin for slack