tack
1[ tak ]
/ tæk /
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noun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
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
1First 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, adjectiveOther definitions for tack (2 of 3)
Origin of tack
2First 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
3First 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, adjectiveWord Origin for tack
C14 tak fastening, nail; related to Middle Low German tacke pointed instrument
British Dictionary definitions for tack (2 of 4)
Word Origin for tack
C19: of unknown origin
British Dictionary definitions for tack (3 of 4)
tack3
/ (tæk) /
noun
- riding harness for horses, such as saddles, bridles, etc
- (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
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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.