slack
/slæk/ noun, adjective, adverb, verb, proper noun
Also a form of slacks
Forms slacks slacker slackest slacking slacked
- noun (uncountable) The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it. “the slack of a rope or of a sail”
- noun A dip in a surface.
- noun In particular, a shallow dell or hollow; a dip in the surface of terrain, such as between hills.
- noun (countable) A low-lying marsh or a pool, especially a tidal or intermittent one which periodically fills and drains.
- noun (uncountable, psychotherapy) Unconditional listening attention given by client to patient.
- adjective (normally said of a rope) Lax; not tense; not firmly extended. “a slack rope”
- adjective Weak; not holding fast. “a slack hand”
- adjective Moderately warm. “a slack oven”
- adjective Moderate in speed. “a slack wind”
- adjective Lacking diligence or care; not earnest or eager. “slack in duty or service”
- adjective Not active or busy, successful, or violent. “Business is slack.”
- adjective Excess; surplus to requirements. “the slack capacity of an oil pipeline”
- adjective (slang, Caribbean, Jamaica) Vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music.
- adverb Slackly. “slack dried hops”
- verb (ambitransitive) To slacken.
- verb (obsolete) To mitigate; to reduce the strength of.
- verb To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake. “Lime slacks.”
- verb To refuse to work as hard as one is supposed to. “I can't afford to slack. This job is all I have!”
- noun (rail transport) A temporary speed restriction where track maintenance or engineering work is being carried out at a particular place.
- noun (countable) A valley, or small, shallow dell; a sag or saddle in a ridge.
Synonyms
slough slow moderate easy culm slump drop-off falloff falling off slack water mire quagmire quag morass slackness slacken slack up relax slow down slow up slake abate let up slack off die away loose lax
Etymology
From Middle English slak, from Old English slæc (“slack”), from Proto-Germanic *slakaz. For sense of coal dust, compare slag.
From Middle English slakken, slaken, from Old English slacian, from Proto-Germanic *slakōną (“to slack, slacken”).
Either from the adjective in Etymology 1 or the verb in Etymology 2.
From Middle English slak, from Old Norse slakki (“a slope”). Cognate with Icelandic slakki, Norwegian slakke.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Small coal; also, coal dust; culm. Raymond.
- noun A valley, or small, shallow dell. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.
- adjective Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended; as, a slack rope.
- adjective Weak; not holding fast; as, a slack hand. Milton.
Etymology [Cf. Slag.]
Etymology [Icel. slakki a slope on a mountain edge.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “slack”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details