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Entry 20 senses · 7 variants Webster, 1913

Slack

/slăk/ · IPA /slæk/
01 n. Small coal; also, coal dust; culm.
  1. 1.
    Small coal; also, coal dust; culm.
02 n. A valley, or small, shallow dell.
  1. 1.
    A valley, or small, shallow dell.[Prov. Eng.]
03 a. Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended; as, a slack rope.
  1. 1.
    Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended; as, a slack rope.
  2. 2.
    Weak; not holding fast; as, a slack hand.
  3. 3.
    Remiss; backward; not using due diligence or care; not earnest or eager; as, slack in duty or service.
    “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness.” — 2 Pet. iii. 9.
  4. 4.
    Not violent, rapid, or pressing; slow; moderate; easy; as, business is slack.
    “C�sar . . . about sunset, hoisting sail with a slack southwest, at midnight was becalmed.” — Milton.
Phrases & compounds
Slack in stays — slow in going about, as a ship.
Slack water — the time when the tide runs slowly, or the water is at rest; or the interval between the flux and reflux of the tide.
Slack-water navigation — navigation in a stream the depth of which has been increased, and the current diminished, by a dam or dams.
Syn. Loose; relaxed; weak; remiss; backward; abated; diminished; inactive; slow; tardy; dull.
04 adv. Slackly; as, slack dried hops.
  1. 1.
    Slackly; as, slack dried hops.
05 n. The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it; as, the slack of a rope or of a sail.
  1. 1.
    The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it; as, the slack of a rope or of a sail.
06 v. i. To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.
imp. & p. p. Slacked; p. pr. & vb. n. Slacking
  1. 1.
    To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.
  2. 2.
    To be remiss or backward; to be negligent.
  3. 3.
    To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake; as, lime slacks.
  4. 4.
    To abate; to become less violent.
    “Whence these raging fires Will slacken, if his breath stir not their flames.” — Milton.
  5. 5.
    To lose rapidity; to become more slow; as, a current of water slackens.
  6. 6.
    To languish; to fail; to flag.
  7. 7.
    To end; to cease; to desist; to slake.[Obs.]
    “That through your death your lineage should slack.” — Chaucer.
    “They will not of that firste purpose slack.” — Chaucer.
07 v. t. To render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to slack a rope; to slacken a bandage.
  1. 1.
    To render slack; to make less tense or firm; as, to slack a rope; to slacken a bandage.
  2. 2.
    To neglect; to be remiss in.[Obs.]
    “Slack not the pressage.” — Dryden.
  3. 3.
    To deprive of cohesion by combining chemically with water; to slake; as, to slack lime.
  4. 4.
    To cause to become less eager; to repress; to make slow or less rapid; to retard; as, to slacken pursuit; to slacken industry.
    “I should be grieved, young prince, to think my presence Unbent your thoughts, and slackened 'em to arms.” — Addison.
    “In this business of growing rich, poor men should slack their pace.” — South.
    “With such delay Well plased, they slack their course.” — Milton.
  5. 5.
    To cause to become less intense; to mitigate; to abate; to ease.
    “To respite, or deceive, or slack thy pain Of this ill mansion.” — Milton.
Phrases & compounds
Air-slacked lime — lime slacked by exposure to the air, in consequence of the absorption of carton dioxide and water, by which it is converted into carbonate of lime and hydrate of lime.