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View synonyms for slack

slack

1

[ slak ]

adjective

  1. not tight, taut, firm, or tense;

    a slack rope.

    Synonyms: relaxed

  2. slack proofreading.

    Synonyms: thoughtless, lazy, lax

  3. slow, sluggish, or indolent:

    He is slack in answering letters.

    Synonyms: listless, tardy, dilatory

  4. not active or busy; dull; not brisk:

    the slack season in an industry.

    Synonyms: quiet, idle

  5. moving very slowly, as the tide, wind, or water.
  6. Phonetics. weak; lax.
  7. Nautical. easy ( def 15a ).


adverb

  1. in a slack manner.

noun

  1. a slack condition or part.
  2. the part of a rope, sail, or the like, that hangs loose, without strain upon it.
  3. a decrease in activity, as in business or work:

    a sudden slack in output.

    Synonyms: relaxation

  4. a period of decreased activity.
  5. Geography. a cessation in a strong flow, as of a current at its turn.
  6. a depression between hills, in a hillside, or in the land surface.
  7. Prosody. (in sprung rhythm) the unaccented syllable or syllables.
  8. British Dialect. a morass; marshy ground; a hollow or dell with soft, wet ground at the bottom.

verb (used with object)

  1. to be remiss in respect to (some matter, duty, right, etc.); leave undone; shirk:

    He slacked the most important part.

    Synonyms: neglect

  2. to make or allow to become less active, vigorous, intense, etc.; relax (efforts, labor, speed, etc.); lessen; moderate (often followed by up ).

    Synonyms: slacken, reduce

  3. to make loose, or less tense or taut, as a rope; loosen (often followed by off or out ).
  4. to slake (lime).

verb (used without object)

  1. to be remiss; shirk one's duty or part.

    Synonyms: malinger

  2. to become less active, vigorous, rapid, etc. (often followed by up ):

    Business is slacking up.

  3. to become less tense or taut, as a rope; to ease off.
  4. to become slaked, as lime.

slack

2

[ slak ]

noun

  1. the fine screenings of coal.

slack

1

/ slæk /

adjective

  1. not tight, tense, or taut
  2. negligent or careless
  3. (esp of water, etc) moving slowly
  4. (of trade, etc) not busy
  5. phonetics another term for lax
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


adverb

  1. in a slack manner
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a part of a rope, etc, that is slack

    take in the slack

  2. a period of decreased activity
    1. a patch of water without current
    2. a slackening of a current
  3. prosody (in sprung rhythm) the unstressed syllable or syllables
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to neglect (one's duty, etc)
  2. often foll by off to loosen; to make slack
  3. chem a less common word for slake
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

slack

2

/ slæk /

noun

  1. small pieces of coal with a high ash content
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈslackness, noun
  • ˈslackly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • slacking·ly adverb
  • slackly adverb
  • slackness noun
  • un·slacked adjective
  • un·slacking adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of slack1

First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective slak(e), slakke, Old English slæc, sleac; cognate with Old Norse slakr, Old High German slach, Latin laxus lax

Origin of slack2

First recorded in 1200–50; of uncertain origin; compare Middle English sleck “mud, slush, stony soil,” Flemish slecke, Middle Dutch slacke, slecke, Dutch slak, Low German slak(ke), German Schlacke “dross (of metal)”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of slack1

Old English slæc, sleac; related to Old High German slah, Old Norse slākr bad, Latin laxus lax

Origin of slack2

C15: probably from Middle Low German slecke; related to Dutch slak, German Schlacke dross
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. take up the slack,
    1. to pull in or make taut a loose section of a rope, line, wire, etc.:

      Take up the slack before releasing the kite.

    2. to provide or compensate for something that is missing or incomplete:

      New sources of oil will take up the slack resulting from the embargo.

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Example Sentences

Restrictions on overtime pay under DeJoy may have prevented full-time workers at some facilities from adding hours to pick up some of the slack.

Where money and technology fail, though, it inevitably falls to government policies — and government subsidies — to pick up the slack.

When the BLS lists workers by full- or part-time status, they also track whether that status is due to economic reasons — like a slowdown in that industry or a slack job market — or noneconomic reasons.

Underlings gave Clark, who has worked at Amazon during almost all of his career, that moniker after he told them that early in his tenure he would hide in the shadows at warehouses seeking to catch lazy workers slacking off who he could fire.

From Fortune

With Gaspar’s low fundraising total, for instance, the conservative Lincoln Club that supports her might consider picking up the slack to help her stay competitive.

He knew I was a Chicago guy, and he cut me absolutely no slack.

To the contrary: since the 2011 ouster of Gaddafi, the world has cut Libya a lot of slack.

Answering a question from fellow Foxer Geraldo Rivera—does the right-leaning network cut President Obama enough slack?

Other women can often be the worst at cutting any slack towards the love interest in a sex scandal.

At the same time, I cut myself slack, because my creative reach went beyond my skill level.

An amount of slack in the chain caused the balls to knock on passing this roller before entering the pump bottom.

I went into the dugout indescribably slack; hardly energy to struggle against the heat and the myriads of flies.

Lost Sister had fashioned a rude litter out of rawhide and two saplings, slack between the poles so the girl could not roll out.

His crew soon produced from the slack of their frocks pieces of plug, which they passed on board in exchange for our eggs.

At length I gave up the contest, led him with a slack rein, and pulled no longer.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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