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86 results for: Slack

Dictionary Entries (20 more entries. View all »)
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Cite This Source
slack2    Audio Help   [slak] Pronunciation Key
–noun
the fine screenings of coal.
[Origin: 1400–50; late ME sleck < MD slacke, slecke]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Cite This Source
slack1    Audio Help   [slak] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.not tight, taut, firm, or tense; loose: a slack rope.
2.negligent; careless; remiss: slack proofreading.
3.slow, sluggish, or indolent: He is slack in answering letters.
4.not active or busy; dull; not brisk: the slack season in an industry.
5.moving very slowly, as the tide, wind, or water.
6.weak; lax.
7.Nautical. easy (def. 15a).
–adverb
8.in a slack manner.
–noun
9.a slack condition or part.
10.the part of a rope, sail, or the like, that hangs loose, without strain upon it.
11.a decrease in activity, as in business or work: a sudden slack in output.
12.a period of decreased activity.
13.Geography. a cessation in a strong flow, as of a current at its turn.
14.a depression between hills, in a hillside, or in the land surface.
15.Prosody. (in sprung rhythm) the unaccented syllable or syllables.
16.British Dialect. a morass; marshy ground; a hollow or dell with soft, wet ground at the bottom.
–verb (used with object)
17.to be remiss in respect to (some matter, duty, right, etc.); shirk; leave undone: He slacked the most important part.
18.to make or allow to become less active, vigorous, intense, etc.; relax (efforts, labor, speed, etc.); lessen; moderate (often fol. by up).
19.to make loose, or less tense or taut, as a rope; loosen (often fol. by off or out).
20.to slake (lime).
–verb (used without object)
21.to be remiss; shirk one's duty or part.
22.to become less active, vigorous, rapid, etc. (often fol. by up): Business is slacking up.
23.to become less tense or taut, as a rope; to ease off.
24.to become slaked, as lime.
—Idiom
25.take up the slack,
a.to pull in or make taut a loose section of a rope, line, wire, etc.: Take up the slack before releasing the kite.
b.to provide or compensate for something that is missing or incomplete: New sources of oil will take up the slack resulting from the embargo.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME slac (adj.), OE sleac, slæc; c. ON slakr, OHG slach, L laxus lax]

—Related forms
slack·ing·ly, adverb
slackly, adverb
slackness, noun

—Synonyms 1. relaxed. 2. lazy, weak. 3. dilatory, tardy, late. 4. idle, quiet. 11. slowing, relaxation. 17. neglect. 18. reduce, slacken. 21. malinger.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Thesaurus Entries (4 more entries. View all »)
  Synonym Collection v1.1Cite This Source
Main Entry:  slack
Part of Speech:  verb
Synonyms:  careless, dilatory, easy, excess, flaccid, flexible, idle, inactive, inadequate, inattentive, indolent, lax, lazy, leeway, leisurely, lethargic, limp, loose, loosen, looseness, neglectful, negligent, play, relax, relaxed, remiss, shirk, sloppy, slothful, slow, sluggish, soft, tardy, unsteady
Source:  Synonym Collection v1.1
Copyright © 2008 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC.
  Roget's II: The New ThesaurusCite This Source
Main Entry:  ease
Part of Speech:  verb
Definition:  To reduce in tension, pressure, or rigidity.
Synonyms:  let up, loose, loosen, relax, slacken, untighten
Source:  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition
by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
  Roget's II: The New ThesaurusCite This Source
Main Entry:  loose
Part of Speech:  adjective
Definition:  Not tautly bound, held, or fastened.
Synonyms:  lax, relaxed
Source:  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition
by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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