slack

adjective

/slæk/

(comparative slacker, superlative slackest)

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not stretched tight synonym loose
- She was staring into space, her mouth slack.
- The rope suddenly went slack.
- slack muscles
- Let the reins go slack.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- feel
- look
- …
adverb
- very
- fairly
- completely
- …
See full entry
(of business) not having many customers or sales; not busy
- a slack period
- Wednesdays are always slack.
- slack demand for beef
Extra Examples
- The antiques business remained slack.
- This season has been pretty slack for local hotels so far.
Topics Businessc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- seem
- become
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
See full entry
(disapproving) not putting enough care, attention or energy into something and so not doing it well enough
- He's been very slack in his work lately.
- Discipline in the classroom is very slack.
- We lost because of some slack defending on our part.
- She knew she had been very slack in her church attendance recently.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- become
- get
- …
adverb
- very
- a bit
- rather
- …
preposition
- in
See full entry

Word Originadjective Old English slæc ‘inclined to be lazy, unhurried’, of Germanic origin; related to Latin laxus ‘loose’.

slack

noun

/slæk/

[uncountable] see also slacksIdioms

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the part of a rope, etc. that is hanging loosely
- There's too much slack in the tow rope.
people, money or space that should be used more fully in an organization
- There's very little slack in the budget.
Topics Businessc2
very small pieces of coal

Word Originnoun senses 1 to 2 Old English slæc ‘inclined to be lazy, unhurried’, of Germanic origin; related to Latin laxus ‘loose’. noun sense 3 late Middle English: probably from Low German or Dutch.

Idioms

cut somebody some slack

(informal) to be less critical of somebody or less strict with them
- Hey, cut him some slack! He's doing his best!

take up the slack

to improve the way money or people are used in an organization
to pull on a rope, etc. until it is tight
- We took up the slack and then pulled as hard as we could.

slack

verb

/slæk/

[intransitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they slack	/slæk/ /slæk/
he / she / it slacks	/slæks/ /slæks/
past simple slacked	/slækt/ /slækt/
past participle slacked	/slækt/ /slækt/
-ing form slacking	/ˈslækɪŋ/ /ˈslækɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

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to work less hard than you usually do or should do
Word Originverb Old English slæc ‘inclined to be lazy, unhurried’, of Germanic origin; related to Latin laxus ‘loose’.

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