tack

¹ American  

[tak] / tæk /

noun

1. a short, sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat, broad head.

2. Nautical.

   1. a rope for extending the lower forward corner of a course.

   2. the lower forward corner of a course or fore-and-aft sail.

   3. the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction.

   4. a course run obliquely against the wind.

   5. one of the series of straight runs that make up the zigzag course of a ship proceeding to windward.

3. a course of action or conduct, especially one differing from some preceding or other course.

4. one of the movements of a zigzag course on land.

5. a stitch, especially a long stitch used in fastening seams, preparatory to a more thorough sewing.

6. a fastening, especially of a temporary kind.

7. stickiness, as of nearly dry paint or glue or of a printing ink or gummed tape; adhesiveness.

8. the gear used in equipping a horse, including saddle, bridle, martingale, etc.

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verb (used with object)

tacks, present (3rd person singular) tacked, past participle, past tacking present participle

1. to fasten by a tack or tacks.

   to tack a rug to the floor.

2. to secure by some slight or temporary fastening.

3. to join together; unite; combine.

4. to attach as something supplementary; append; annex (often followed by on oronto ).

   Synonyms:

   add, fasten, affix

5. Nautical.

   1. to change the course of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack.

   2. to navigate (a sailing vessel) by a series of tacks.

6. to equip (a horse) with tack.

verb (used without object)

tacks, present (3rd person singular) tacked, past participle, past tacking present participle

1. Nautical.

   1. to change the course of a sailing vessel by bringing the head into the wind and then causing it to fall off on the other side.

      He ordered us to tack at once.

   2. (of a sailing vessel) to change course in this way.

   3. to proceed to windward by a series of courses as close to the wind as the vessel will sail.

2. to take or follow a zigzag course or route.

3. to change one's course of action, conduct, ideas, etc.

4. to equip a horse with tack (usually followed byup ).

   Please tack up quickly.

idioms

1. on the wrong tack, under a misapprehension; in error; astray.

   His line of questioning began on the wrong tack.

tack ² American  

[tak] / tæk /

noun

1. food; fare.

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tack ³ American  

[tak] / tæk /

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. a lease, especially on farmland.

2. a rented pasture.

3. a catch, haul, or take of fish.

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tack ¹ British  

/ tæk /

noun

1. a short sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat and comparatively large head

2. a long loose temporary stitch used in dressmaking, etc

3. See tailor's-tack

4. a temporary fastening

5. stickiness, as of newly applied paint, varnish, etc

6. nautical the heading of a vessel sailing to windward, stated in terms of the side of the sail against which the wind is pressing

7. nautical

   1. a course sailed by a sailing vessel with the wind blowing from forward of the beam

   2. one such course or a zigzag pattern of such courses

8. nautical

   1. a sheet for controlling the weather clew of a course

   2. the weather clew itself

9. nautical the forward lower clew of a fore-and-aft sail

10. a course of action differing from some previous course

    he went off on a fresh tack

11. under a false impression

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verb

1. (tr) to secure by a tack or series of tacks

2. to sew (something) with long loose temporary stitches

3. (tr) to attach or append

   tack this letter onto the other papers

4. nautical to change the heading of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack

5. nautical to steer (a sailing vessel) on alternate tacks

6. (intr) nautical (of a sailing vessel) to proceed on a different tack or to alternate tacks

7. (intr) to follow a zigzag route; keep changing one's course of action

tack ² British  

/ tæk /

noun

1. 1. riding harness for horses, such as saddles, bridles, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      the tack room

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tack ³ British  

/ tæk /

noun

1. a lease

2. an area of land held on a lease

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tack ⁴ British  

/ tæk /

noun

1. informal food, esp when regarded as inferior or distasteful See also hardtack

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tack More Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tacker
  noun
• tackless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• tacking
  present
• tacked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tack
  simple
• tacks
  simple
• have tacked
  perfect
• has tacked
  perfect
• am tacking
  progressive
• are tacking
  progressive
• is tacking
  progressive
• have been tacking
  perfect progressive
• has been tacking
  perfect progressive

Past

• tacked
  simple
• had tacked
  perfect
• was tacking
  progressive
• were tacking
  progressive
• had been tacking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tack
  simple
• will have tacked
  perfect
• will be tacking
  progressive
• will have been tacking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of tack¹

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

Origin of tack²

First recorded in 1740–50; origin uncertain

Origin of tack³

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

Explanation

A tack is a small, sharp pin or nail with a wide head. You can use tacks to attach your flyers to the telephone poles in your neighborhood. As a verb, tack means "attach using a tack," and also, simply "add," the way a movie director sometimes tacks on a happy ending to satisfy the audience. In sailing, a tack is a change of course that results in the wind blowing on the opposite side of the boat: "We decided to make a sharp tack to avoid the iceberg." Tack can also refer to a certain rope used in sailing, or to horseback riding equipment.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tack tacks tacked tacking

After decades of urging families to communicate better and work on their issues together, some therapists are now taking an opposite tack: They’re encouraging estrangement as a means of self-care.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Three of the four said they disliked cold lay repairs and that a properly laid hot fill option, done to the proper depth and with a tack coat emulsion, should last years.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

But he then reportedly reversed tack following calls to One Nation colleagues, asking if he could re-do the answer with the correct policy.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

His tack here reflects his supporters’ priorities, though.

From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026

They took the bikes into the barn and dried them off with the tack cloth there.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

He added that the decision to wait for it to conclude "tacks on five or six years or more", describing it as "an unwarranted delay".

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

After warm handshakes and a warning about Taiwan from Xi Jinping on Thursday, the Chinese president and Trump were due to get down to brass tacks on Friday with discussions on trade, geopolitics and AI.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

“Investors are getting down to brass tacks and saying ‘what do we want to own over the next few months,’” MAI’s Grisanti said.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026

His plays demonstrate a fierce effort to get down to brass tacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2025

She tacks up a full-color road map of the United States in her bedroom and charts her mileage daily with a green felt marker.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

The bottom half of the order tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

Meanwhile, Carvana eschews traditional dealer tactics like commissioned salespeople, price haggling and profitable documentation fees tacked onto the transaction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

To win loan deals in recent years, Ares allowed many borrowers to defer paying cash interest with payments-in-kind, or PIK, that get tacked on to the outstanding loan.

From Barron's ● May 6, 2026

So the only reasonable charge was violating the city ordinance against disturbing “the peace of others by violent, offensive or boisterous conduct or language,” but that was tacked on later, in February.

From Slate ● May 4, 2026

I tacked this to the green bathroom door while he was still inside.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

Michael Cochran is calculating and tacking on additional per-box fuel costs to the Florida lemons he sells to local retailers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was flat premarket, after tacking higher in after-hours trading.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

While the stock had gained 69% over the course of his bullish call, the downgrade proved premature, with the stock tacking on another 28% in gains since then.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 15, 2025

Sir Ronald adds that tacking the problem of an overreliance on the US "can only come from diversifying the market, but that's not an overnight achievement".

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2025

Darwin knew that he was now gliding along the dangerous edge of the known world, tacking south of heresy.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• affix
• fasten
• nail
• paste
• pin
• stitch