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tack

1
[ tak ]
/ tæk /
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noun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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Idioms about tack

    on the wrong tack, under a misapprehension; in error; astray: His line of questioning began on the wrong tack.

Origin of tack

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tak, take, takke “buckle, clasp, nail” (later, “tack”); “protective metal plate (on a cart),” from Old North French taque “back of a chimney”; cognate with German Zacke “prong, point,” Dutch tak “twig, bough”; the verb is derivative of the noun; see tache, attach

OTHER WORDS FROM tack

tacker, nountackless, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tack

1. tack , tact2. tacks , tax

Other definitions for tack (2 of 3)

tack2
[ tak ]
/ tæk /

noun

Origin of tack

2
First recorded in 1740–50; origin uncertain

Other definitions for tack (3 of 3)

tack3
[ tak ]
/ tæk /

noun Scot. and North England.
a lease, especially on farmland.
a rented pasture.
a catch, haul, or take of fish.

Origin of tack

3
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English tak, takke, tac “fee paid to a lord, customary fee,” from Old Norse tak “hold, grasp, seizure, goods”; see origin at take
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tack in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tack (1 of 4)

tack1
/ (tæk) /

noun
verb

Derived forms of tack

tackless, adjective

Word Origin for tack

C14 tak fastening, nail; related to Middle Low German tacke pointed instrument

British Dictionary definitions for tack (2 of 4)

tack2
/ (tæk) /

noun
informal food, esp when regarded as inferior or distastefulSee also hardtack

Word Origin for tack

C19: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for tack (3 of 4)

tack3
/ (tæk) /

noun
  1. riding harness for horses, such as saddles, bridles, etc
  2. (as modifier)the tack room

Word Origin for tack

C20: shortened from tackle

British Dictionary definitions for tack (4 of 4)

tack4
/ (tæk) /

noun Scot
a lease
an area of land held on a lease

Word Origin for tack

C15: from tak a Scots word for take
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with tack

tack

see get down to brass tacks; on the right tack; sharp as a tack.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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