1
: not using due diligence, care, or dispatch : negligent
2
a
: characterized by slowness, sluggishness, or lack of energy
a slack pace
b
: moderate in some quality
especially
: moderately warm
a slack oven
c
: blowing or flowing at low speed
the tide was slack
3
a
: not tight or taut
a slack rope
b
: lacking in usual or normal firmness and steadiness : weak
slack muscles
slack supervision
4
: wanting in activity : dull
a slack market
5
: lacking in completeness, finish, or perfection
a very slack piece of work
slackly
adverb
slackness
noun
1
: cessation in movement or flow
2
: a part of something that hangs loose without strain
take up the slack of a rope
3
: trousers especially for casual wear
—usually used in plural
4
: a dull season or period
5
a
: a part that is available but not used
some slack in the budget
b
: a portion (as of labor or resources) that is required but lacking
hired a temp to take up the slack
6
: additional leeway or relief from pressure
—usually used with cut
refused to cut me some slack on the schedule
dialectal, England
: a pass between hills
: the finest screenings of coal produced at a mine unusable as fuel unless cleaned
Synonyms
Adjective
Verb
Noun (1)
Examples of slack in a Sentence
Adjective
His broken arm hung slack at his side.
The rope suddenly went slack.
He accused the government of slack supervision of nuclear technology.
Verb
They need to stop slacking and get down to work.
the skipper ordered the crew to slack off the sheets on the mainsail
Recent Examples on the Web
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2023
Trees also can be damaged or girdled by a slack line play set — a set of swings, ladders and other play equipment suspended from a rope that is often tied between two trees.
—Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2023
The law also encourages more of the type of batteries that feed electricity to the grid when the wind is slack, or at night when the sun isn’t hitting solar panels.
—Isabella O'Malley, Fortune, 24 July 2023
The law also encourages more of the type of batteries that feed electricity to the grid when the wind is slack, or at night when the sun isn't hitting solar panels.
—Arkansas Online, 24 July 2023
More exports help create jobs and could compensate for the otherwise slack domestic economy.
—Claire Fu, New York Times, 19 June 2023
Automakers are looking to China to drive sales growth at a time of slack American and European demand, but that requires then to pour money into creating competitive models that can appeal to Chinese buyers in a crowded market.
—Joe McDonald, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Apr. 2023
The jaw can also become too slack and allow the tongue to fall out of position.
—Michael Pollick, chicagotribune.com, 8 Aug. 2020
Knead the dough aggressively on a floured work surface for 10 minutes, adding sprinkles of flour if the dough is slack and sticky.
—Tribune News Service, cleveland, 31 July 2020
Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
Under its influence, Ze dyes his hair, starts slacking on his schoolwork and getting into trouble in class.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 6 Sep. 2023
Made with 100% cotton, these plush terry towels offer plenty of absorbency without slacking on comfort.
—Lauren Wellbank, Woman's Day, 17 Aug. 2023
However, Riah, 25, has felt like Trey, 29, has been slacking in the romantic date night department.
—Olivia Evans, Women's Health, 16 Aug. 2023
Charania, who is five feet nine, scrolled constantly on his two screens, his face intermittently slack with focus.
—Dan Greene, The New Yorker, 24 June 2023
Signals on China’s economy are likely to show increasing need for a policy boost from the central bank, with deeper factory-gate deflation, anemic CPI, stalling export growth and slack private demand for credit.
—Adam Majendie, Bloomberg.com, 4 June 2023
Although the causes of the recent bank meltdowns aren’t yet fully known, some industry observers have pointed to slack risk management.
—Richard Vanderford, WSJ, 22 Mar. 2023
As Gates told it, slacking might mean taking more time to look back and cherish one’s own success, bounce back from difficulties, and develop relationships, all seemingly difficult to do while patrolling a software company’s employees’ cars going and coming.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 15 May 2023
Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 8 Sep. 2023
The attire of weekend grilling, or mini-golf: A navy polo and gray slacks.
—Josh Condon, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2023
The Federal Reserve, which is in the throes of a historic inflation-busting campaign, has been wanting to see more slack in the labor market, believing the imbalance between worker supply and demand could cause wages to rise and push inflation higher.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 1 Sep. 2023
After Cook, The Dallas Morning News’ 2022 offensive player of the year, graduated, a big question for DeSoto this offseason was who would pick up his slack.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas News, 26 Aug. 2023
Just a couple months after pairing socks with sandals—a controversial combo favored by frat boys—the Hunger Games star stepped out in a black tank and navy blue slacks.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 23 Aug. 2023
Read the full Gemini Daily Horoscope Cancer (June 22 - July 22)
Cutting yourself some slack?
—USA TODAY, 14 Aug. 2023
Their slack faces have the look of Greek masks: slits for shut eyes and black sockets for nostrils, mouths turned down like sickle moons.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
Losing those services entirely would force the 60% of facilities that offer procedural abortions to pick up the slack.
—Jamie Ducharme, Time, 18 Aug. 2023
See More
Adjective
Yet her character’s purpose becomes perilously blurred, and there is something slack and unfocussed at the core of the plot.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2023
Trees also can be damaged or girdled by a slack line play set — a set of swings, ladders and other play equipment suspended from a rope that is often tied between two trees.
—Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2023
The law also encourages more of the type of batteries that feed electricity to the grid when the wind is slack, or at night when the sun isn’t hitting solar panels.
—Isabella O'Malley, Fortune, 24 July 2023
The law also encourages more of the type of batteries that feed electricity to the grid when the wind is slack, or at night when the sun isn't hitting solar panels.
—Arkansas Online, 24 July 2023
More exports help create jobs and could compensate for the otherwise slack domestic economy.
—Claire Fu, New York Times, 19 June 2023
Automakers are looking to China to drive sales growth at a time of slack American and European demand, but that requires then to pour money into creating competitive models that can appeal to Chinese buyers in a crowded market.
—Joe McDonald, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Apr. 2023
The jaw can also become too slack and allow the tongue to fall out of position.
—Michael Pollick, chicagotribune.com, 8 Aug. 2020
Knead the dough aggressively on a floured work surface for 10 minutes, adding sprinkles of flour if the dough is slack and sticky.
—Tribune News Service, cleveland, 31 July 2020
Verb
Self-confidence and flexibility are not just fancy job titles for slacking.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
Under its influence, Ze dyes his hair, starts slacking on his schoolwork and getting into trouble in class.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 6 Sep. 2023
Made with 100% cotton, these plush terry towels offer plenty of absorbency without slacking on comfort.
—Lauren Wellbank, Woman's Day, 17 Aug. 2023
However, Riah, 25, has felt like Trey, 29, has been slacking in the romantic date night department.
—Olivia Evans, Women's Health, 16 Aug. 2023
Charania, who is five feet nine, scrolled constantly on his two screens, his face intermittently slack with focus.
—Dan Greene, The New Yorker, 24 June 2023
Signals on China’s economy are likely to show increasing need for a policy boost from the central bank, with deeper factory-gate deflation, anemic CPI, stalling export growth and slack private demand for credit.
—Adam Majendie, Bloomberg.com, 4 June 2023
Although the causes of the recent bank meltdowns aren’t yet fully known, some industry observers have pointed to slack risk management.
—Richard Vanderford, WSJ, 22 Mar. 2023
As Gates told it, slacking might mean taking more time to look back and cherish one’s own success, bounce back from difficulties, and develop relationships, all seemingly difficult to do while patrolling a software company’s employees’ cars going and coming.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 15 May 2023
Noun
Her husband, who wore a blue cardigan, white tee and slacks, helped celebrate her partnership as the brand's new ambassador.
—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 8 Sep. 2023
The attire of weekend grilling, or mini-golf: A navy polo and gray slacks.
—Josh Condon, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2023
The Federal Reserve, which is in the throes of a historic inflation-busting campaign, has been wanting to see more slack in the labor market, believing the imbalance between worker supply and demand could cause wages to rise and push inflation higher.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 1 Sep. 2023
After Cook, The Dallas Morning News’ 2022 offensive player of the year, graduated, a big question for DeSoto this offseason was who would pick up his slack.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas News, 26 Aug. 2023
Just a couple months after pairing socks with sandals—a controversial combo favored by frat boys—the Hunger Games star stepped out in a black tank and navy blue slacks.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 23 Aug. 2023
Read the full Gemini Daily Horoscope Cancer (June 22 - July 22)
Cutting yourself some slack?
—USA TODAY, 14 Aug. 2023
Their slack faces have the look of Greek masks: slits for shut eyes and black sockets for nostrils, mouths turned down like sickle moons.
—Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
Losing those services entirely would force the 60% of facilities that offer procedural abortions to pick up the slack.
—Jamie Ducharme, Time, 18 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English slak, from Old English sleac; akin to Old High German slah slack, Latin laxus slack, loose, languēre to languish, Greek lagnos lustful and perhaps to Greek lēgein to stop
Noun (2)
Middle English slak, from Old Norse slakki
Noun (3)
earlier sleck, probably from Middle Dutch slacke, slecke slag
First Known Use
Adjective
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun (1)
1756, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun (2)
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Noun (3)
1729, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of slack was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing slack
Articles Related to slack
Dictionary Entries Near slack
Cite this Entry
“Slack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slack. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
slack
1 of 3 adjective1
2
: not energetic
a slack pace
4
: not busy
a slack season
slackly
adverb
slackness
noun
slack
2 of 3 verb1
a
: to be or become slack or careless in performing or doing
b
: lessen
the wind slacked off
2
: to avoid work or duty
3
4
a
: to cause to lessen
b
slack
3 of 3 noun1
: a stopping of movement or flow
2
: a part of something that hangs loose without strain
take up the slack of a rope
3
plural
: trousers especially for casual wear
4
: a dull season or period : lull
5
: additional tolerance or relief from pressure
cut me some slack
More from Merriam-Webster on slack
Nglish: Translation of slack for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of slack for Arabic Speakers
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