Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Slack

Slack

,
Noun.
[Cf.
Slag
.]
Small coal; also, coal dust; culm.
Raymond.

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
rope
.
2.
Weak; not holding fast;
as, a
slack
hand
.
Milton.
3.
Remiss; backward; not using due diligence or care; not earnest or eager;
as,
slack
in duty or service
.
The 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;
as, business is
slack
.
“With slack pace.”
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 hops
.

Slack

,
Noun.
The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it;
as, the
slack
of a rope or of a sail
.

Webster 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)

  1. (uncountable) Small coal; coal dust.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Raymond to this entry?)
  2. (countable) A valley, or small, shallow dell.
  3. (uncountable) The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.
    The slack of a rope or of a sail.
  4. (countable) A tidal marsh or shallow, that periodically fills and drains.

Synonyms

  • (small coal; coal dust): culm
  • (tidal marsh): slough

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

slack (comparative slacker, superlative slackest)

  1. Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended.
    a slack rope
  2. Weak; not holding fast.
    a slack hand
  3. 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.
  4. Not violent, rapid, or pressing.
    Business is slack.
    • 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 3, in Well Tackled!:
      They know our boats will stand up to their work, said Willison, and that counts for a good deal. A low estimate from us doesn't mean scamped work, but just for that we want to keep the yard busy over a slack time.
  5. (slang, West Indies) vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

slack (not comparable)

  1. Slackly.
    slack dried hops

Translations

Verb

slack (third-person singular simple present slacks, present participle slacking, simple past and past participle slacked)

  1. To slacken.
    • Robert South
      In this business of growing rich, poor men [] should slack their pace.
  2. (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 [...].
  3. (followed by “off”) to procrastinate; to be lazy
  4. (followed by “off”) to refuse to exert effort
  5. To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake.
    Lime slacks.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams