slack: Meaning and Definition of

slack

Pronunciation: (slak), [key]
— adj.
  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. easy (def. 15a).
—adv.
  1. in a slack manner.
—n.
  1. a slack condition or part.
  2. the part of a rope, sail, or the like, that hangs loose, without strain upon it.
  3. a decrease in activity, as in business or work: a sudden slack in output.
  4. a period of decreased activity.
  5. a cessation in a strong flow, as of a current at its turn.
  6. a depression between hills, in a hillside, or in the land surface.
  7. (in sprung rhythm) the unaccented syllable or syllables.
  8. a morass; marshy ground; a hollow or dell with soft, wet ground at the bottom.
  9. Take up the slack before releasing the kite.
    1. to pull in or make taut a loose section of a rope, line, wire, etc.:Take up the slack before releasing the kite.
    2. to provide or compensate for something that is missing or incomplete:New sources of oil will take up the slack resulting from the embargo.
—v.t.
  1. to be remiss in respect to (some matter, duty, right, etc.); shirk; leave undone: He slacked the most important part.
  2. to make or allow to become less active, vigorous, intense, etc.; relax (efforts, labor, speed, etc.); lessen; moderate (often fol. by up).
  3. to make loose, or less tense or taut, as a rope; loosen (often fol. by off or out).
  4. to slake (lime).
—v.i.
  1. to be remiss; shirk one's duty or part.
  2. to become less active, vigorous, rapid, etc. (often fol. by up): Business is slacking up.
  3. to become less tense or taut, as a rope; to ease off.
  4. to become slaked, as lime.

slack

Pronunciation: (slak), [key]
— n.
  1. the fine screenings of coal.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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