slack

slack ¹  (slk)

adj. slack·er, slack·est

1. Moving slowly; sluggish: a slack pace.

2. Lacking in activity; not busy: a slack season for the travel business.

3. Not tense or taut; loose: a slack rope; slack muscles. See Synonyms at loose.

4. Lacking firmness; flaccid: a slack grip.

5. Lacking in diligence or due care or concern; negligent: a slack worker. See Synonyms at negligent.

6. Flowing or blowing with little speed: a slack current; slack winds.

7. Linguistics Pronounced with the muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed; lax.

v. slacked, slack·ing, slacks

v.tr.

1. To make slower or looser; slacken.

2. To be careless or remiss in doing: slack one's duty.

3. To slake (lime).

v.intr.

1. To be or become slack.

2. To evade work; shirk.

n.

1. A loose part, as of a rope or sail.

2. A lack of tension; looseness.

3. A period of little activity; a lull.

4.

a. A cessation of movement in a current of air or water.

b. An area of still water.

5. Unused capacity: still some slack in the economy.

6. slacks Casual trousers that are not part of a suit.

adv.

In a slack manner: a banner hanging slack.

Phrasal Verb:

slack off

To decrease in activity or intensity.

Idiom:

cut/give (someone) some slack

Slang To make an allowance for (someone), as in allowing more time to finish something.

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[Middle English slak, from Old English slæc; see slg- in Indo-European roots.]

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slackly adv.

slackness n.

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slack ²  (slk)

n.

A mixture of coal fragments, coal dust, and dirt that remains after screening coal.

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[Middle English sleck.]

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slack ¹

Adjective

1. not tight, tense, or taut: the slack jaw hung open

2. careless in one's work

3. (esp. of water) moving slowly

4. (of trade) not busy

Noun

1. a part that is slack or hangs loose: take up the slack

2. a period of less busy activity

Verb

1. to neglect one's duty or work in a lazy manner: stop slacking, you pair!

2. (often foll. by off)to loosen or slacken

See also slacks [Old English slæc, sleac]

slackness n

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slack ²

Noun

small pieces of coal with a high ash content [probably Middle Low German slecke]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	slack - dust consisting of a mixture of small coal fragments and coal dust and dirt that sifts out when coal is passed over a sieve debris, detritus, junk, rubble, dust - the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up
	2.	slack - 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" drop-off, falling off, falloff, slump decline in quality, worsening, declension, deterioration - process of changing to an inferior state
	3.	slack - a stretch of water without current or movement; "suddenly they were in a slack and the water was motionless" slack water stretch - a large and unbroken expanse or distance; "a stretch of highway"; "a stretch of clear water"
	4.	slack - a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot mire, morass, quag, quagmire bog, peat bog - wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation; has poorer drainage than a swamp; soil is unfit for cultivation but can be cut and dried and used for fuel
	5.	slack - the quality of being loose (not taut); "he hadn't counted on the slackness of the rope" slackness looseness, play - movement or space for movement; "there was too much play in the steering wheel"
	6.	slack - a cord or rope or cable that is hanging loosely; "he took up the slack" cord - a line made of twisted fibers or threads; "the bundle was tied with a cord"
Verb	1.	slack - avoid responsibilities and work, be idle fiddle, shirk, shrink from, goldbrick - avoid (one's assigned duties); "The derelict soldier shirked his duties"
	2.	slack - be inattentive to, or neglect; "He slacks his attention" neglect - fail to attend to; "he neglects his children"
	3.	slack - release tension on; "slack the rope" loosen, loose - make loose or looser; "loosen the tension on a rope"
	4.	slack - make less active or fast; "He slackened his pace as he got tired"; "Don't relax your efforts now" slack up, slacken, relax minify, decrease, lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff"
	5.	slack - become slow or slower; "Production slowed" slacken, slow up, slow, slow down weaken - become weaker; "The prisoner's resistance weakened after seven days"
	6.	slack - make less active or intense abate, slake minify, decrease, lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff"
	7.	slack - become less in amount or intensity; "The storm abated"; "The rain let up after a few hours" die away, let up, slack off, abate decrease, diminish, lessen, fall - decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper"
	8.	slack - cause to heat and crumble by treatment with water; "slack lime" slake hydrate - cause to be hydrated; add water or moisture to; "hydrate your skin" air-slake - alter by exposure to air with conversion at least in part to a carbonate; "air-slake lime"
Adj.	1.	slack - not tense or taut; "the old man's skin hung loose and grey"; "slack and wrinkled skin"; "slack sails"; "a slack rope" loose lax - lacking in strength or firmness or resilience; "a lax rope"; "a limp handshake"
	2.	slack - flowing with little speed as e.g. at the turning of the tide; "slack water" standing - (of fluids) not moving or flowing; "mosquitoes breed in standing water"
	3.	slack - lacking in rigor or strictness; "such lax and slipshod ways are no longer acceptable"; "lax in attending classes"; "slack in maintaining discipline" lax negligent - characterized by neglect and undue lack of concern; "negligent parents"; "negligent of detail"; "negligent in his correspondence"

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slack

adjective 1. limp, relaxed, loose, lax, flaccid, not taut

adjective 2. loose, hanging, flapping, baggy << OPPOSITE taut

adjective 3. slow, quiet, inactive, dull, sluggish, slow-moving << OPPOSITE busy

adjective 4. negligent, lazy, lax, idle, easy-going, inactive, tardy, slapdash, neglectful, slipshod, inattentive, remiss, asleep on the job (informal) << OPPOSITE strict

noun 5. surplus, excess, overflow, leftover, glut, surfeit, overabundance, superabundance, superfluity

noun 6. room, excess, leeway, give (informal) play, looseness

verb 7. shirk, idle, relax, flag, neglect, dodge, skive Brit. (slang) bob off Brit. (slang) bludge Austral., N.Z. (informal)

Translations

slack [slæk] adj (= loose) → flojo (= slow); de poca actividad (= careless); descuidado;

(COMM) [market] → poco activo: [demand] → débil; [period] → bajo;

business is slack → hay poco movimiento en el negocio

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slack [slæk] adj (loose) → lâche, desserré(e) (= slow); stagnant(e) (= careless); négligent(e) → peu sérieux/euse or consciencieux/euse;

(Comm) [market] → peu actif/ive: [demand] → faible; [period] → creux/euse

n (in rope etc) → mou m;

business is slack → les affaires vont mal

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slack [slæk] adj (loose) → locker;

(rope) → durchhängend;

(skin) → schlaff;

(careless) → nachlässig;

(Comm) (market) → flau;

(000) (demand) → schwach;

(period) → ruhig

n (in rope etc) → durchhängendes Teil nt;

slacks npl (trousers) → Hose f;

business is slack → das Geschäft geht schlecht

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slack [slæk] adj (= loose) → allentato/a (= slow); lento/a (= careless); negligente;

(COMM) [market] → stagnante: [demand] → scarso/a; [period] → morto/a

n (in rope etc) → parte f non tesa;

business is slack → l'attività commerciale è scarsa see also slacks