slack

slack
I UK [slæk] / US adjective
Word forms "slack":
adjective slack comparative slacker superlative slackest
1) loose and not pulled tight

The fence consisted of two slack strands of barbed wire.

The rope suddenly went slack.

Her muscles felt slack.

2) not taking enough care to make sure that something is done well

slack safety standards

Some slack defending allowed Valencia to score another goal.

3) not as busy or successful as usual in business

Business is usually slack in the winter.

Demand for the product is slack.


Derived word:
slackness
noun uncountable
II UK [slæk] / US verb [intransitive]
Word forms "slack":
present tense I/you/we/they slack he/she/it slacks present participle slacking past tense slacked past participle slacked
to try to avoid working

Stop slacking and get back to work.

Phrasal verbs:
III UK [slæk] / US noun [uncountable]
1) people, equipment, or money that could be used more effectively in an organization

There is still a great deal of slack in the budget.

There's just no slack in the system to cope with any more patients.

2) the fact that a rope is loose, rather than being held or fixed tightly

There's too much slack in the rope.

•

cut/give someone some slack — informal to be less strict with someone

Cut him a little slack – his father just died.

take/pick up the slack — to improve an organization or system by using people, equipment, and money in a more effective way; to do the things that someone else is not able or willing to do; to pull a rope so that it is no longer loose

Why should their colleagues have to pick up the slack?


English dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:
, , , / , , , , , , (as lime) / , / , / , , , , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Slack — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Andrew Slack (* 1955), australischer Rugbyspieler Charles E. Slack, US amerikanischer Basketballspieler Charles Roger Slack (* 1937), britischer Biochemiker und Pflanzenphysiologe Freddie Slack (1910–1965) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Slack — Slack, a. [Compar. {Slacker}; superl. {Slackest}.] [OE. slak, AS. sleac; akin to OS. slak, OHG. slah, Prov. G. schlack, Icel. slakr, Sw. slak; cf. Skr. s[.r]j to let loose, to throw. Cf. {Slake}.] Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • slack — slack1 [slak] adj. [ME slakke < OE slæc, akin to Du slak < IE base * (s)lēg , loose, slack > L laxus, lax] 1. slow; idle; sluggish 2. barely moving: said of a current, as of air or water 3. characterized by little work, trade, or… …   English World dictionary

  • Slack — Slack, Slacken Slack en, v. t. 1. To render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to slack a rope; to slacken a bandage. Wycklif (Acts xxvii. 40) [1913 Webster] 2. To neglect; to be remiss in. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] Slack not the pressage.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Slack — may refer to: *John Bamford Slack, British politician and lay preacher *William Yarnel Slack, Confederate general killed in the American Civil War *Slack (project management), a term used in project management *Slack, West Yorkshire, a village in …   Wikipedia

  • Slack — [slɛk , engl.: slæk], der; s [engl. slack = Flaute, zu: slack = locker, lose, flau] (Wirtsch.): Überschuss an [finanziellen] Mitteln eines Unternehmens, der sich in Erfolgszeiten ansammelt u. als Reserve für Krisenzeiten dient. * * * Slack  … …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Slack — Slack, Slacken Slack en, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Slacked}, {Slackened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Slacking}, {Slackening}.] [See {Slack}, a.] 1. To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • slack — Ⅰ. slack [1] ► ADJECTIVE 1) not taut or held tightly in position; loose. 2) (of business or trade) not busy; quiet. 3) careless, lazy, or negligent. 4) (of a tide) neither ebbing nor flowing. ► NOUN 1) …   English terms dictionary

  • slack — [adj1] loose, baggy; inactive dull, easy, feeble, flabby, flaccid, flexible, flimsy, inert, infirm, laggard, lax, leisurely, limp, not taut, passive, quaggy, quiet, relaxed, sloppy, slow, slow moving, sluggish, soft, supine, unsteady, weak;… …   New thesaurus

  • Slack — Slack, adv. Slackly; as, slack dried hops. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Slack — Slack, n. The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it; as, the slack of a rope or of a sail. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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