Slack - definition, pronunciation, transcription

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Amer.  |slæk|  American pronunciation of the word slack
Brit.  |slæk|  British pronunciation of the word slack

noun

- dust consisting of a mixture of small coal fragments and coal dust and dirt that sifts out when coal is passed over a sieve
- a noticeable deterioration in performance or quality (syn: drop-off, slump)
a gradual slack in output
- a stretch of water without current or movement
suddenly they were in a slack and the water was motionless
- a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot (syn: mire, morass, quag, quagmire)
- the quality of being loose (not taut) (syn: slackness)
he hadn't counted on the slackness of the rope
- a cord or rope or cable that is hanging loosely
he took up the slack

verb

- avoid responsibilities and work, be idle
- be inattentive to, or neglect
He slacks his attention
- release tension on
slack the rope
- make less active or fast (syn: relax, slack up, slacken)
He slackened his pace as he got tired
- become slow or slower (syn: slacken, slow)
- make less active or intense (syn: abate, slake)
- become less in amount or intensity (syn: abate, die away, let up, slack off)
- cause to heat and crumble by treatment with water (syn: slake)
slack lime

adjective

- not tense or taut (syn: loose)
slack and wrinkled skin
slack sails
a slack rope
a slack grip
- flowing with little speed as e.g. at the turning of the tide
slack water
- lacking in rigor or strictness (syn: lax)
slack in maintaining discipline

Extra examples

His broken arm hung slack at his side.

The rope suddenly went slack.

He accused the government of slack supervision of nuclear technology.

They need to stop slacking and get down to work.

...the skipper ordered the crew to slack off the sheets on the mainsail...

He showed himself as a very slack workman.

After such a trip he felt absolutely slack.

If Sue gets a job, Mike will have to take up the slack at home.

Take the horse to the stable, and slack his girths.

I slacked my pace.

At the end of the academic year he felt very tired and slacked his efforts in his studies.

The wind slacked off a bit.

The rain slacked and died.

The negotiations slack, that's quite dangerous.

Keep the rope slack until I tell you to pull it.

Phrasal verbs

slack off  — become less in amount or intensity
slack up  — make less active or fast

Word forms

verb
I/you/we/they: slack
he/she/it: slacks
present participle: slacking
past tense: slacked
past participle: slacked
adjective
comparative: slacker
superlative: slackest
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