Adjacent Words

Slack definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SLACK, a.
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.
SLACK IN STAYS, in seamen's language, slow in going about; as a ship.
SLACK WATER, in seamen's language, 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, adv. Partially; insufficiently; not intensely; as slack dried hops; bread slack baked.
SLACK, n. The part of a rope that hangs loose, having no stress upon it.
SLACK, SLACK'EN, v.i.
1. To become less tense, firm or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.
2. To be remiss or backward; to neglect. Deutoronomy 23.
3. To lose cohesion or the quality of adhesion; as, lime slacks and crumbles into power.
4. To abate; to become less violent. Whence these raging fires will slacken, if his breath stir not their flames.
5. To lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of water slackens; the tide slackens.
6.To languish; to fail; to flag.
SLACK, SLACK'EN, v.t.
1. To lessen tension; to make less tense or tight; as, to slacken a rope or a bandage.
2. To relax; to remit; as, to slacken exertion or labor.
3. To mitigate; to diminish in severity; as, to slacken pain.
4. To become more slow; to lessen rapidity; as, to slacken one's pace.
5. To abate; to lower; as, to slacken the heat of a fire.
6. To relieve; to unbend; to remit; as, to slacken cares.
7. To withhold; to use less liberally.
8. To deprive or cohesion; as, to slack lime.
9. To repress; to check. I should be griev'd young prince, to think my presence unbent you thoughts and slacken'd 'em to arms.
10. To neglect. Slack not the good presage.
11. To repress, or make less quick or active.
SLACK, n. Small coal; coal broken into small parts.
SLACK, n. A valley or small shallow dell.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not tense or taut; "the old man's skin hung loose and grey"; "slack and wrinkled skin"; "slack sails"; "a slack rope" [syn: loose, slack]
2: flowing with little speed as e.g. at the turning of the tide; "slack water"
3: lacking in rigor or strictness; "such lax and slipshod ways are no longer acceptable"; "lax in attending classes"; "slack in maintaining discipline" [syn: lax, slack] n
1: dust consisting of a mixture of small coal fragments and coal dust and dirt that sifts out when coal is passed over a sieve
2: a noticeable deterioration in performance or quality; "the team went into a slump"; "a gradual slack in output"; "a drop-off in attendance"; "a falloff in quality" [syn: slump, slack, drop-off, falloff, falling off]
3: a stretch of water without current or movement; "suddenly they were in a slack and the water was motionless" [syn: slack, slack water]
4: a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot [syn: mire, quagmire, quag, morass, slack]
5: the quality of being loose (not taut); "he hadn't counted on the slackness of the rope" [syn: slack, slackness]
6: a cord or rope or cable that is hanging loosely; "he took up the slack" v
1: avoid responsibilities and work, be idle
2: be inattentive to, or neglect; "He slacks his attention"
3: release tension on; "slack the rope"
4: make less active or fast; "He slackened his pace as he got tired"; "Don't relax your efforts now" [syn: slack, slacken, slack up, relax]
5: become slow or slower; "Production slowed" [syn: slow, slow down, slow up, slack, slacken]
6: make less active or intense [syn: slake, abate, slack]
7: become less in amount or intensity; "The storm abated"; "The rain let up after a few hours" [syn: abate, let up, slack off, slack, die away]
8: cause to heat and crumble by treatment with water; "slack lime" [syn: slack, slake]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English slak, from Old English sleac; akin to Old High German slah slack, Latin laxus slack, loose, langu?re to languish, Greek lagnos lustful and perhaps to Greek l?gein to stop Date: before 12th century 1. not using due diligence, care, or dispatch ; negligent 2. a. characterized by slowness, sluggishness, or lack of energy <a slack pace> b. moderate in some quality; especially moderately warm <a slack oven> c. blowing or flowing at low speed <the tide was slack> 3. a. not tight or taut <a slack rope> b. lacking in usual or normal firmness and steadiness ; weak <slack muscles> <slack supervision> 4. wanting in activity ; dull <a slack market> 5. lacking in completeness, finish, or perfection <a very slack piece of work> Synonyms: see negligent • slackly adverb • slackness noun II. verb Date: 13th century intransitive verb 1. to be or become slack 2. to shirk or evade work or duty transitive verb 1. a. to be slack or negligent in performing or doing b. lessen, moderate 2. to release tension on ; loosen 3. a. to cause to abate b. slake 3 III. noun Date: 1756 1. cessation in movement or flow 2. a part of something that hangs loose without strain <take up the slack of a rope> 3. trousers especially for casual wear — usually used in plural 4. a dull season or period 5. a. a part that is available but not used <some slack in the budget> b. a portion (as of labor or resources) that is required but lacking <hired a temp to take up the slack> 6. additional leeway or relief from pressure — usually used with cut <refused to cut me some slack on the schedule> IV. noun Etymology: Middle English slak, from Old Norse slakki Date: 14th century dialect England a pass between hills V. noun Etymology: earlier sleck, probably from Middle Dutch slacke, slecke slag Date: 1729 the finest screenings of coal produced at a mine unusable as fuel unless cleaned

Oxford Reference Dictionary

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 slæc f. Gmc 2. n. coal-dust or small pieces of coal. Etymology: ME prob. f. LG or Du.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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 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?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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Slack Slack, n. [Cf. Slag.] Small coal; also, coal dust; culm. --Raymond.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Slack Slack, n. [Icel. slakki a slope on a mountain edge.] A valley, or small, shallow dell. [Prov. Eng.] --Grose.

Webster's 1913 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) 2. To neglect; to be remiss in. [Obs.] --Shak. Slack not the pressage. --Dryden. 3. To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake; as, to slack lime. 4. To cause to become less eager; to repress; to make slow or less rapid; to retard; as, to slacken pursuit; to slacken industry. ``Rancor for to slack.'' --Chaucer. I should be grieved, young prince, to think my presence Unbent your thoughts, and slackened 'em to arms. --Addison. In this business of growing rich, poor men should slack their pace. --South. With such delay Well plased, they slack their course. --Milton. 5. To cause to become less intense; to mitigate; to abate; to ease. To respite, or deceive, or slack thy pain Of this ill mansion. --Milton. Air-slacked lime, lime slacked by exposure to the air, in consequence of the absorption of carton dioxide and water, by which it is converted into carbonate of lime and hydrate of lime.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Slack Slack, adv. Slackly; as, slack dried hops.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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 weather. 2. To be remiss or backward; to be negligent. 3. To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake; as, lime slacks. 4. To abate; to become less violent. Whence these raging fires Will slacken, if his breath stir not their flames. --Milton. 5. To lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of water slackens. 6. To languish; to fail; to flag. 7. To end; to cease; to desist; to slake. [Obs.] That through your death your lineage should slack. --Chaucer. They will not of that firste purpose slack. --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(slacker, slackest, slacks, slacking, slacked) 1. Something that is slack is loose and not firmly stretched or tightly in position. The boy's jaw went slack. ADJ 2. A slack period is one in which there is not much work or activity. The workload can be evened out, instead of the shop having busy times and slack periods. = quiet ADJ 3. Someone who is slack in their work does not do it properly. Many publishers have simply become far too slack. ADJ [disapproval] • slackness He accused the government of slackness and complacency. 4. If someone is slacking, they are not working as hard as they should. He had never let a foreman see him slacking. VERB: only cont, V [disapproval] • Slack off means the same as slack. If someone slacks off, Bill comes down hard. PHRASAL VERB: V P 5. To take up the slack or pick up the slack means to do or provide something that another person or organization is no longer doing or providing. As major airlines give up less-traveled routes, smaller planes are picking up the slack. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Backward, remiss, careless, negligent. 2. Slow, tardy, dilatory, lingering, abated, diminished. 3. Loose, relaxed. 4. Weak, remiss. 5. Dull, idle, quiet, inactive. II. ad. Partially, insufficiently, imperfectly. III. v. n. See slacken. IV. v. a. 1. See slacken. 2. Slake (as lime).

Moby Thesaurus

Laodicean, Micawberish, Olympian, Paphian, abandon, abate, abatement, abeyant, aloof, ambling, anemic, apathetic, asthenic, backward, bagging, baggy, bate, beat-up, bedraggled, behindhand, benumbed, blah, blase, bloodless, blow out, blowzy, bone-lazy, bones, cadging, careless, cataleptic, catatonic, cautious, chaff, chambering, chicken, chintzy, choke, circumspect, claudicant, coal dust, comatose, comb, coom, cowardly, crawling, creeping, creeping like snail, culm, culpably negligent, cut, dallying, damp, dangling, dead, deadwood, debilitated, decline, decrease, delay, delaying, deliberate, delinquent, derelict, desensitized, detached, diffuse, dilapidated, dilatory, dillydallying, diminish, diminution, dishwater, disinterested, disjoin, disperse, disregardful, do-nothing, dodge, dog it, doless, dopey, dormant, douse, down, downturn, drabbletailed, draff, draggled, draggletailed, dregs, dronish, drony, drooping, droopy, duck, duck duty, dull, dust, dwindling, ease, ease off, ease up, easy, easygoing, effete, ergophobic, etiolated, extinguish, faineant, faint, faintish, faltering, feeble, filings, flabby, flaccid, flagging, flapping, flat, floppy, foot-dragging, foul, free, frowzy, frumpish, frumpy, garbage, gash, gentle, get out of, give, goldbrick, gone, good-for-nothing, goof off, gradual, groggy, grubby, gutless, halting, hanging, heartless, heavy, hebetudinous, hobbling, hogwash, hopeless, husks, idle, imbecile, impotent, imprecise, in a stupor, in abeyance, in rags, in suspense, inactive, inactivity, inadvertent, inattentive, indifferent, indolent, inert, infirm, informal, insouciant, jump, lackadaisical, laggard, lagging, laissez-faire, languid, languorous, latent, lax, lazy, leaden, leave, leave loose ends, leave undone, leavings, lees, leisurely, lenient, lessening, let alone, let be, let dangle, let down, let go, let loose, let up, let up on, lethargic, lifeless, light, limber, limp, limping, lingering, listless, logy, loitering, loose, loose-moraled, loosen, looseness, lull, lumbering, lumpen, lustless, malinger, marrowless, messy, miss, mitigate, moderate, mussy, neglect, neglectful, neglecting, negligent, nerveless, nonaggressive, nonchalant, noninterfering, nonrestrictive, not pull fair, numb, numbed, of easy virtue, of loose morals, off, off-guard, offal, offscourings, omit, orts, otiose, out, overindulgent, overly permissive, overpermissive, parasitic, parings, pass over, pass up, passive, pause, permissive, phlegmatic, pithless, play, pluckless, poking, poky, pooped, potsherds, powerless, pretermit, procrastinate, procrastinating, procrastinative, procrastinatory, promiscuous, put out, quench, ragged, raggedy, rags, raspings, reduction, refuse, regardless, relax, relaxed, release, reluctant, remiss, remit, resigned, rickety, room, rubbery, ruinous, sagging, sapless, sauntering, scamping, scatter, scourings, scraggly, scrap iron, scraps, scrounging, scum, sedentary, seedy, shabby, shaky, shards, shavings, shiftless, shirk, shoddy, shuffling, sinewless, skimping, skip, skulk, slack off, slack up, slacken, slackening, slackness, slag, slake, slatternly, sleeping, slide out of, slighting, slip out of, slipshod, slop, sloppy, slops, slothful, slovenly, slow, slow as death, slow as molasses, slow as slow, slow down, slow up, slow-crawling, slow-foot, slow-going, slow-legged, slow-moving, slow-paced, slow-poky, slow-running, slow-sailing, slow-stepped, slow-up, sluggish, slumbering, slurring, sluttish, smoldering, smother, snail-paced, snaillike, sneak out of, snuff, snuff out, soft, soldier, soporific, sordid, spineless, spiritless, sponging, spunkless, squalid, staggering, stagnant, stamp out, standing, static, stifle, stoic, streaming, strengthless, strolling, stubble, stupefied, supine, suspended, sweepings, swill, tacky, tame, tares, tattered, tentative, tire, toddling, torpid, tortoiselike, tottering, trifle, trudging, turtlelike, unaroused, unbend, unbrace, uncaring, uncircumspect, unconcerned, unenterprising, unglue, unguarded, unhardened, unhurried, uninterested, unkempt, unlax, unleash, unneat, unnerved, unrestrained, unrigorous, unsightly, unsteady, unstick, unstrain, unstring, unstrung, untidy, untighten, unwary, unwatchful, unwind, waddling, wanton, wastage, waste, waste matter, wastepaper, wayward, weak, weaken, weakly, weeds, welsh, whorish, withdrawn, work-shy