OTHER WORDS FOR slack
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Idioms about 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.
take up the slack,
Origin of slack
1First 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
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
2First 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
British Dictionary definitions for slack (1 of 2)
See also slacks
Derived forms of slack
slackly, adverbslackness, nounWord 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
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