slack
see also: Slack
Pronunciation Noun

slack

  1. (uncountable) The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.
    the slack of a rope or of a sail
  2. (countable) A tidal marsh or shallow that periodically fills and drains.
Synonyms Translations Translations
  • Russian: слабина́
Translations Adjective

slack (comparative slacker, superlative slackest)

  1. Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended.
    a slack rope
  2. Weak; not holding fast.
    a slack hand
  3. Remiss; backward; not using due diligence or care; not earnest or eager.
    slack in duty or service
    • Bible, 2 Peter iii. 9
      The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.
  4. Not violent, rapid, or pressing.
    Business is slack.
  5. Excess; surplus to requirements.
    the slack capacity of an oil pipeline
  6. (slang, West Indies) vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Adverb

slack (not comparable)

  1. Slackly.
    slack dried hops
Verb

slack (slacks, present participle slacking; past and past participle slacked)

  1. To slacken.
    • In this business of growing rich, poor men […] should slack their pace.
  2. (obsolete) To mitigate; to reduce the strength of.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.7:
      Ne did she let dull sleepe once to relent, / Nor wearinesse to slack her hast, but fled / Ever alike [...].
  3. (followed by “off”) to procrastinate; to be lazy
  4. (followed by “off”) to refuse to exert effort
  5. To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake.
    Lime slacks.
Translations Translations Noun

slack (plural slacks)

  1. (rail) A temporary speed restriction where track maintenance or engineering work is being carried out at a particular place.
Noun

slack (plural slacks)

  1. (countable) A valley, or small, shallow dell.
Noun

slack (uncountable)

  1. (mining) Small coal; coal dust.
    • 1905, Colliery Engineer (volume 25, page 107)
      One of the important improvements of recent years has been attained by mixing the peat pulp as it passes through the grinding machine, with other inflammable materials, such as bituminous coal dust, or slack […]

Slack
Proper noun
  1. Surname



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