Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Slack
Slack
,Noun.
[Icel.
slakki
a slope on a mountain edge.] A valley, or small, shallow dell.
[Prov. Eng.]
Grose.
Slack
,Adj.
[
Com
par.
Slacker
; sup
erl.
Slackest
.] [OE.
slak
, AS. sleac
; akin to OS. slak
, OHG. slah
, Prov. G. schlack
, Icel. slakr
, Sw. slak
; cf. Skr. sṛj
to let loose, to throw. Cf. Slake
.] Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended;
as, a
. slack
rope2.
Weak; not holding fast;
as, a
. slack
handMilton.
3.
Remiss; backward; not using due diligence or care; not earnest or eager;
as,
. slack
in duty or serviceThe Lord is not
slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness. 2 Pet. iii. 9.
4.
Not violent, rapid, or pressing; slow; moderate; easy;
“With slack pace.” as, business is
. slack
Chaucer.
C[GREEK]sar . . . about sunset, hoisting sail with a
slack
southwest, at midnight was becalmed. Milton.
Slack in stays
(Naut.)
, slow in going about, as a ship.
– Slack water
, the time when the tide runs slowly, or the water is at rest; or the interval between the flux and reflux of the tide.
– Slack-water navigation
, navigation in a stream the depth of which has been increased, and the current diminished, by a dam or dams.
Syn. – Loose; relaxed; weak; remiss; backward; abated; diminished; inactive; slow; tardy; dull.
Slack
,adv.
Slackly;
as,
. slack
dried hopsSlack
,Noun.
The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it;
as, the
. slack
of a rope or of a sailWebster 1828 Edition
Slack
SLACK
,Adj.
1.
Not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended; as a slack rope; slack rigging; slack shrouds.2.
Weak; remiss; not holding fast; as a slack hand.3.
Remiss; backward; not using due diligence; not earnest or eager; as slack in duty or service; slack in business.4.
Not violent; not rapid; slow; as a slack pace.Definition 2024
slack
slack
See also: släck
English
Noun
slack (countable and uncountable, plural slacks)
- (uncountable) Small coal; coal dust.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Raymond to this entry?)
- (countable) A valley, or small, shallow dell.
- (uncountable) The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.
- The slack of a rope or of a sail.
- (countable) A tidal marsh or shallow, that periodically fills and drains.
Synonyms
Derived terms
- (coal dust): nutty slack
Translations
small coal, coal dust
loose part of anything
Adjective
slack (comparative slacker, superlative slackest)
- Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended.
- a slack rope
- Weak; not holding fast.
- a slack hand
- Remiss; backward; not using due diligence or care; not earnest or eager.
- slack in duty or service
- Bible, 2 Peter iii. 9
- The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.
- Not violent, rapid, or pressing.
- Business is slack.
- (slang, West Indies) vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
not tense
weak
not using due diligence or care
|
|
Adverb
slack (not comparable)
- Slackly.
- slack dried hops
Translations
adverb of slack
|
Verb
slack (third-person singular simple present slacks, present participle slacking, simple past and past participle slacked)
- To slacken.
- Robert South
- In this business of growing rich, poor men […] should slack their pace.
- Robert South
- (obsolete) To mitigate; to reduce the strength of.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.7:
- Ne did she let dull sleepe once to relent, / Nor wearinesse to slack her hast, but fled / Ever alike [...].
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.7:
- (followed by “off”) to procrastinate; to be lazy
- (followed by “off”) to refuse to exert effort
- To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake.
- Lime slacks.
Derived terms
Translations
to procrastinate
|
to refuse to exert effort