slack

slack
1.
adj., n., v., & adv.
—adj.
1 (of rope etc.) not taut.
2 inactive or sluggish.
3 negligent or remiss.
4 (of tide etc.) neither ebbing nor flowing.
5 (of trade or business or a market) with little happening.
6 loose.
7 Phonet. lax.
8 relaxed, languid.
—n.
1 the slack part of a rope (haul in the slack).
2 a slack time in trade etc.
3 colloq. a spell of inactivity or laziness.
4 (in pl.) full-length loosely-cut trousers for informal wear.
—v.
1 a tr. & intr. slacken. b tr. loosen (rope etc.).
2 intr. colloq. take a rest, be lazy.
3 tr. slake (lime).
—adv.
1 slackly.
2 slowly or insufficiently (dry slack; bake slack).
Phrases and idioms:
slack hand lack of full control in riding or governing. slack lime slaked lime. slack off
1 loosen.
2 lose or cause to lose vigour. slack rein = slack hand. slack suit US casual clothes of slacks and a jacket or shirt. slack up reduce the speed of a train etc. before stopping. slack water a time near the turn of the tide, esp. at low tide. take up the slack use up a surplus or make up a deficiency; avoid an undesirable lull.
Derivatives:
slackly adv. slackness n.
Etymology: OE slaeligc f. Gmc
2.
n. coal-dust or small pieces of coal.
Etymology: ME prob. f. LG or Du.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • Slack — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Andrew Slack (* 1955), australischer Rugbyspieler Charles E. Slack, US amerikanischer Basketballspieler Charles Roger Slack (* 1937), britischer Biochemiker und Pflanzenphysiologe Freddie Slack (1910–1965) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Slack — Slack, a. [Compar. {Slacker}; superl. {Slackest}.] [OE. slak, AS. sleac; akin to OS. slak, OHG. slah, Prov. G. schlack, Icel. slakr, Sw. slak; cf. Skr. s[.r]j to let loose, to throw. Cf. {Slake}.] Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • slack — slack1 [slak] adj. [ME slakke < OE slæc, akin to Du slak < IE base * (s)lēg , loose, slack > L laxus, lax] 1. slow; idle; sluggish 2. barely moving: said of a current, as of air or water 3. characterized by little work, trade, or… …   English World dictionary

  • Slack — Slack, Slacken Slack en, v. t. 1. To render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to slack a rope; to slacken a bandage. Wycklif (Acts xxvii. 40) [1913 Webster] 2. To neglect; to be remiss in. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] Slack not the pressage.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Slack — may refer to: *John Bamford Slack, British politician and lay preacher *William Yarnel Slack, Confederate general killed in the American Civil War *Slack (project management), a term used in project management *Slack, West Yorkshire, a village in …   Wikipedia

  • Slack — [slɛk , engl.: slæk], der; s [engl. slack = Flaute, zu: slack = locker, lose, flau] (Wirtsch.): Überschuss an [finanziellen] Mitteln eines Unternehmens, der sich in Erfolgszeiten ansammelt u. als Reserve für Krisenzeiten dient. * * * Slack  … …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Slack — Slack, Slacken Slack en, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Slacked}, {Slackened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Slacking}, {Slackening}.] [See {Slack}, a.] 1. To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • slack — Ⅰ. slack [1] ► ADJECTIVE 1) not taut or held tightly in position; loose. 2) (of business or trade) not busy; quiet. 3) careless, lazy, or negligent. 4) (of a tide) neither ebbing nor flowing. ► NOUN 1) …   English terms dictionary

  • slack — [adj1] loose, baggy; inactive dull, easy, feeble, flabby, flaccid, flexible, flimsy, inert, infirm, laggard, lax, leisurely, limp, not taut, passive, quaggy, quiet, relaxed, sloppy, slow, slow moving, sluggish, soft, supine, unsteady, weak;… …   New thesaurus

  • Slack — Slack, adv. Slackly; as, slack dried hops. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Slack — Slack, n. The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it; as, the slack of a rope or of a sail. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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