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slack

slack

47 3.3
The loose part of a rope, cable, or line
  • noun
  • /slæk/
translation icon : holgura
  • It's mostly just to take up the slack in the stretcher and make sure that it's tight and that the joints are filled.
  • slack in the belt

Examples

  • And we need to leave a bit of slack and just push that in there.

  • Make sure there is enough slack in the rope to tie the knot securely.

  • Take up the slack in the quarter line.

  • You need three fingers of slack right here.

  • - Give me slack on the rope.

  • You sure you got enough slack?

  • And people cut corners knowing that that, that, that there were other things that would take up the slack if something went wrong.

  • The rope had too much slack when it landed in Lilla's hand.

  • Hannah, hold the slack.

  • Then he saw Gracja's reins fall slack, and Nikolai leaned perilously in the saddle.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

slackness
vsslack
4.9

A state when something is loose rather than tight

refers also to the actual loose part of a rope rather than only state

Antonyms

30 4.8

Stretched tight and showing physical or emotional tension

Compounds

slack water
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A time when a tidal river or sea is nearly still as the tide turns

slack tide
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A short time when the water is almost still before the current changes direction

slack Alice
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who is often lazy and late finishing tasks

slack suit
  • Archaic
6.3

A casual matching set of trousers and jacket worn for informal occasions

How Loose

looseness
1 2.5
slack
47 3.3
tension
70 3.2
tautness
1 5.3

Surface Forms

slack singular
slacks plural

Etymology

Slack as a noun for the loose part of a rope comes from the old word slak meaning 'loose', so the slack is simply the 'loose' bit of rope you can pull in or let out.