slacks

[ slaks ]

/ slæks /

noun (used with a plural verb)

men's or women's trousers for informal wear.

Nearby words

Origin of slacks

First recorded in 1815–25; slack¹ + -s³

slack

[ slak ]

/ slæk /

adjective

not tight, taut, firm, or tense; loose: 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.

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.); shirk; leave undone: 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.

Origin of slack

before 900; Middle English slac (adj.), Old English sleac, slæc; cognate with Old Norse slakr, Old High German slach, Latin laxus lax

SYNONYMS FOR slack

1. relaxed. 2. lazy, weak. 3. dilatory, tardy, late. 4. idle, quiet. 11. slowing, relaxation. 17. neglect. 18. reduce, slacken. 21. malinger.

Related forms

slack·ing·ly, adverbslack·ly, adverbslack·ness, nounun·slacked, adjective

un·slack·ing, adjective

slack

[ slak ]

/ slæk /

noun

the fine screenings of coal.

Origin of slack

1400–50; late Middle English sleck < Middle Dutch slacke, slecke

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for slacks

Sitting at the desk was a man in his mid- to late 40s, balding, conventionally dressed in slacks and an Oxford shirt, no tie.
Writing a Novel: Even Making It Up Requires Research|Ridley Pearson|July 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The corollary being, if she slacks off, even a teensy bit, anything that goes wrong is her fault.
Medicine Bedevils Pregnant Women With Too Many Warnings About Risk|Lenore Skanazy|October 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
There were the bodies of fourteen men, dressed in bloodied djellabahs or in shirts and slacks.
U.N. Ambassador Designate Samantha Power’s Greatest Journalistic Hits|Caitlin Dickson|June 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Amongst other things I sent home my 'slacks,' and never wore them again in France.
Q.6.a and Other places|Francis Buckley

Lorinda, in slacks and an old sweater, was so engrossed in feeding the flames that she did not hear when her name was called.
Whispering Walls|Mildred A. Wirt
Frederick entered the Mess with a decided sea-roll, hitched his slacks and berthed himself on the starboard settee.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, March 24, 1920.|Various
"Of course I shall put in a claim for the slacks," I murmured.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, January 14, 1920|Various
He was on horseback, in slacks and in his shirt-sleeves; to live in one's shirt sleeves is a very common custom this weather.
At Ypres with Best-Dunkley|Thomas Hope Floyd

British Dictionary definitions for slacks

slacks

/ (slæks) /

pl n

informal trousers worn by both sexes

slack

/ (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)

Word Origin for slack

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

slack

/ (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

Word Origin and History for slacks

slack

adj.

Old English slæc "remiss, lax, characterized by lack of energy, sluggish, indolent, languid; slow, gentle, easy," from Proto-Germanic *slakas (cf. Old Saxon slak, Old Norse slakr, Old High German slah "slack," Middle Dutch lac "fault, lack"), from PIE root *(s)leg- "to be slack" (see lax).

Sense of "not tight" (in reference to things) is first recorded c.1300. As an adverb from late 14c. Slack-key (1975) translates Hawaiian ki ho'alu. Slack water (n.) "time when tide is not flowing" is from 1769. Slack-handed "remiss" is from 1670s. Slack-baked "baked imperfectly, half-baked" is from 1823; figuratively from 1840.

slack

n.2

"coal dust," mid-15c., sleck, of uncertain origin, probably related to Middle Dutch slacke, Middle Low German slecke "slag, small pieces left after coal is screened," perhaps related to slagge "splinter flying off metal when it is struck" (see slag (n.)).

slack

n.1

early 14c., "cessation" (of pain, grief, etc.), from slack (adj.). Meaning "a cessation of flow in a current or tide" is from 1756; that of "still stretch of a river" is from 1825. Meaning "loose part or end" (of a rope, sail, etc.) is from 1794; hence figurative senses in take up the slack (1930 figuratively) and slang cut (someone) some slack (1968). Meaning "quiet period, lull" is from 1851. Slacks "loose trousers" first recorded 1824, originally military.

slack

1510s, "to moderate, make slack," back-formed from slack (adj.) after the original verb veered into the specialized sense of slake. Meaning "be remiss, inactive or idle, fail to exert oneself" is attested from 1540s; current use is probably a re-coining from c.1904 (see slacker, and cf. Old English slacful "lazy," sleacmodnes "laziness"). Related: Slacked; slacking.

slacks

noun (used with a plural verb)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of slacks

slack

adjective

adverb

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of slack

slack

noun

Origin of slack

Examples from the Web for slacks

slacks

pl n

slack

adjective

adverb

noun

verb

Word Origin for slack

slack

noun

Word Origin for slack

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