tack

I UK [tæk] / US noun
Word forms "tack":
singular tack plural tacks
*

1)

a) [countable] a small pointed nail with a flat top

a carpet tack

b) American a thumbtack

2) [singular] a particular way of doing or achieving something

Let's try a different tack.

change tack:

The government may change tack if it loses support.

3) [uncountable] the pieces of equipment that you put on a horse when you are going to ride it

4) [uncountable] informal objects that you do not like because they are cheap and not attractive

5) [countable] a direction that a boat sails in relation to the wind

a long starboard tack

II UK [tæk] / US verb
Word forms "tack":
present tense I/you/we/they tack he/she/it tacks present participle tacking past tense tacked past participle tacked

1)

a) [transitive] to fix something somewhere with a small nail

The wooden strips have to be tacked down.

b) to pin something such as a piece of paper on a wall or board etc

She tacked up the photograph on the bulletin board.

2) [transitive] British to stitch pieces of cloth together with long loose stitches, usually before you stitch the cloth more carefully

3) [intransitive] if a boat tacks, it turns so that the wind is blowing on the other side of its sails

Phrasal verbs:

- tack on