Did you know?
Do you change tack or tact?
Although some believe the word tact is short for tactics in phrases like "change tact" or "try a different tact," the correct word in such contexts is tack.
Tack in "change tack" and "try a different tack" means "a course or method of action especially when sharply divergent from that previously followed.”
Tack developed this meaning from its nautical applications. In sailing, tack can refer to the direction that a ship or boat is sailing in as it moves at an angle to the direction of the wind; or to a change from one direction to another direction; or to the distance traveled while sailing in a particular direction.
Tack developed the "course or method of action" meaning near the end of the 17th century; within 100 or so years, the phrase "change tack" was being used with the figurative meaning it has today.
While there is also a long history of people using tact where tack belongs, the use is widely shunned by usage guides, which means you might want to avoid it.
Did you know?
This word came to English directly from French (a Latin-based language), where it can also mean simply "sense of touch". Dealing with difficult situations involving other people can require the kind of extreme sensitivity that our fingertips possess. As Lincoln once said, "Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves", which doesn't usually come naturally. Someone tactful can soothe the feelings of the most difficult people; a tactless person will generally make a bad situation worse.
Examples of tact in a Sentence
Ana Marie Cox, Time, 24 Apr. 2006
The attorney general's lack of restraint and want of tact, on such an occasion … were clearly symptomatic of a considerable irritation, even rage.
—Christopher Hitchens, Harper's, March 2001
In society tact is the great art that makes for civility, for civilization …
—Jacques Barzun, From Dawn to Decadance, 2000
He did not clear his throat with badinage, as timidity teaches us to do, nor did he waste his breath with tact.
—Earl Shorris, Harper's, September 1997
A man of gentle mien, he is inclined to use psychology and tact, rather than showboat heroics, when pursuing his murder inquiries.
—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review, 1 Jan. 1989
The peace talks required great tact on the part of both leaders.
I was surprised by his lack of tact.
Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
This may be a function of his trademark persistence rather than of tact.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
The key is proceeding with tact—sometimes humor, sometimes concern.
—Angela Haupt, Time, 9 Apr. 2025
Trump has less tact, less charm and less intelligence than any of those men and women who lead their respective nations.
—Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tact
Cite this Entry
“Tact.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tact. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
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tact
noun
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