slack

adj., slack·er, slack·est.

1. Moving slowly; sluggish: a slack pace.
2. Lacking in activity; not busy: a slack season for the travel business.
3. Not tense or taut; loose: a slack rope; slack muscles. See synonyms at loose.
4. Lacking firmness; flaccid: a slack grip.
5. Lacking in diligence or due care or concern; negligent: a slack worker. See synonyms at negligent.
6. Flowing or blowing with little speed: a slack current; slack winds.
7. Linguistics. Pronounced with the muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed; lax.

v., slacked, slack·ing, slacks.

v.tr.

1. To make slower or looser; slacken.
2. To be careless or remiss in doing: slack one's duty.
3. To slake (lime).

v.intr.

1. To be or become slack.
2. To evade work; shirk.

n.

1. A loose part, as of a rope or sail.
2. A lack of tension; looseness.
3. A period of little activity; a lull.
4. 1. A cessation of movement in a current of air or water.
   2. An area of still water.
5. Unused capacity: still some slack in the economy.
6. slacks Casual trousers that are not part of a suit.

adv.

In a slack manner: a banner hanging slack.

phrasal verb:

slack off

1. To decrease in activity or intensity.

idiom:

cut (or give) (someone) some slack

1. SlangTo make an allowance for (someone), as in allowing more time to finish something. To make an allowance for (someone), as in allowing more time to finish something.

[Middle English slak, from Old English slæc.]

slackly slack'ly adv.
slackness slack'ness n.

slack² (slăk)
n.

A mixture of coal fragments, coal dust, and dirt that remains after screening coal.

[Middle English sleck.]

slack³ (slăk)
n. Chiefly British

1. A small dell or hollow.
2. A bog; a morass.

[Middle English slak, from Old Norse slakki.]

In Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) free time in a network. The slack for an event is the difference between the latest time (LT) and the earliest time (ET). It is the length of time an activity can be delayed without interfering with the project completion.

also slack off

adjective

1. Characterized by reduced economic activity: down, dull, off, slow, sluggish, soft. See increase/decrease.
2. Not tautly bound, held, or fastened: lax, loose, relaxed. See tighten/loosen.
3. Guilty of neglect; lacking due care or concern: derelict, lax, neglectful, negligent, remiss. See careful/careless.

verb

1. To reduce in tension, pressure, or rigidity: ease, let up, loose, loosen, relax, slacken, untighten. See tighten/loosen.
2. To avoid the fulfillment of: disregard, neglect, shirk. Idioms: let slide. See do/not do.

phrasal verb - slack off

To become or cause to become less active or intense: abate, bate, die (away, down, off. or out), ease (off or up), ebb, fall, fall off, lapse, let up, moderate, remit, slacken, subside, wane. See increase/decrease.

adj

Definition: lazy, negligent
Antonyms: active, alert, diligent, disciplined, meticulous

adj

Definition: loose, baggy
Antonyms: rigid, stiff, taut, tight

n

Definition: looseness, excess
Antonyms: rigidity, stiffness, tautness, tightness

---

1. Space allocated to a disk file but not actually used to store useful information. The techspeak equivalent is ‘internal fragmentation’. Antonym: hole.

2. In the theology of the Church of the SubGenius, a mystical substance or quality that is the prerequisite of all human happiness.

Since Unix files are stored compactly, except for the unavoidable wastage in the last block or fragment, it might be said that “Unix has no slack”. See ha ha only serious.

---

1. Coal of relatively fine size, usually not exceeding 2½ in. (6.35 cm) in diameter; often screenings.
2. Fitting loosely.

---

Loose; not taut.

• s. cap — a can of meat with one of the ends bulging slightly indicating the beginnings of a blown can.
• s. loin — hollow-flanked with too much room between the last rib and the thigh.
• s. pastern — too much slope in the pastern.

To treat with a reduced level of emphasis. To give someone slack. To ease off.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
adj. - slap, løsthængende, slæk, efterladende, forsømmelig, stille, død
n. - slæk, slør, spillerum, stilstand, død periode
v. tr. - slække, slappe, løsne, mindske, sagtne
v. intr. - drive, slappe af
adv. - slapt, løst

idioms:

• slack off    slappe af, blive sløv
• slack water    stille vand mellem ebbe og flod

2.
n. - kulstøv, kulsmul

3.
n. - hulning, fordybning

Nederlands (Dutch)
speling, verslapping, tijdelijke rust, moeras, vrijetijdsbroek, slap, los, traag, laks, lijntrekken, vaart minderen de teugels aantrekken

Français (French)
1.
adj. - peu consciencieux, négligent, peu appliqué, peu soigné, creux, faible, détendu
n. - mou, (fig) marge, ralentissement des affaires
v. tr. - relâcher
v. intr. - se laisser aller, paresser, fainéanter
adv. - de manière relâchée/détendue

idioms:

• slack off    (Mécan) relâcher (la pression)
• slack water    eaux mortes

2.
n. - poussier, menu charbon, charbonnaille

3.
n. - petit vallon

Deutsch (German)
1.
adj. - locker, nachlässig, flau
n. - (Naut.) Lose, Flaute
v. - locker werden, (ugs.) bummeln
adv. - nachlässig

idioms:

• slack off    lockern
• slack water    Stauwasser

2.
n. - Gruskohle

3.
n. - kleine Höhle

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - χαλαρός, νωθρός, άτονος, άψυχος, άπρακτος, χαρακτηριζόμενος από αναδουλειές
n. - αναδουλειές, κεσάτια, (καθομ.) περίοδος απραξίας ή τεμπελιάς, ανθρακοθρύμματα, (στον πληθ.) (καθημερινό) παντελόνι
v. - λασκάρω, χαλαρώνω, ατονώ

idioms:

• slack off    χαλαρώνω, ατονώ
• slack water    παλιρροιοστάσιο, φάση της παλίρροιας κατά την οποία τα νερά κρεμούν

Italiano (Italian)
allentato, indolente, allentamento, stagione morta, allentare, pantaloni

idioms:

• slack off    mollare
• slack water    acqua morta, acque stagnanti
• take/pick up the slack    migliorare la situazione

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - lento, indolente, relapso, frouxo
n. - carvão (m) miúdo, remanso (m), período (m) de inatividade, estação (f) morta
v. - moderar, negligenciar

idioms:

• slack off    afrouxar
• slack water    água (f) parada
• take/pick up the slack    fazer algo que alguém não pode fazer

Русский (Russian)
плохо натянутая часть (чего-л.), рационализировать, люфт, затишье (в работе), спад (деловой активности), бездействие, время между приливом и отливом, резерв времени, замедленный, слабый, неактивный, небрежный, ленивый, плохо натянутый, нетребовательный, ослаблять, замедлять, умерять, бездельничать, утолять (жажду)

idioms:

• slack off    уменьшать, уменьшаться, ослабевать
• slack water    время между приливом и отливом
• take/pick up the slack    подтянуть (производство)

Español (Spanish)
1.
adj. - flojo
n. - parte floja
v. tr. - aflojar, relajar, soltar
v. intr. - aflojar, amainar, ceder, flojear
adv. - flojamente

idioms:

• slack off    disminuir(se), reducir(se)
• slack water    agua muerta, marea muerta

2.
n. - cisco

3.
n. - hueco pequeño

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - slö, slapp, loj, trög, slak, stilla, död
n. - slak del, slakhet, nedgång, stillestånd, dödperiod, stopp, avkoppling, vilopaus, vila
v. - slappna, slöa, bli slöare, slaka, hänga slak, slakna, bli slak, minska, sakta, slå av på

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 松弛的, 疏忽的, 不流畅的, 使松弛, 马虎从事, 使缓慢, 松懈, 松驰, 减弱, 松弛, 淡季, 静止, 马虎地, 缓慢地

idioms:

• slack off    松懈, 偷懒
• slack water    缓慢流动的水

2. 煤屑, 煤末

3. 峡谷, 沼泽, 凹地

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
adj. - 鬆弛的, 疏忽的, 不流暢的
v. tr. - 使鬆弛, 馬虎從事, 使緩慢
v. intr. - 鬆懈, 鬆馳, 減弱
n. - 鬆弛, 淡季, 靜止
adv. - 馬虎地, 緩慢地

idioms:

• slack off    鬆懈, 偷懶
• slack water    緩慢流動的水

2.
n. - 煤屑, 煤末

3.
n. - 峽谷, 沼澤, 凹地

한국어 (Korean)
1.
adj. - (옷 따위가) 느슨한, 되는 대로의, 굼뜬
n. - 줄의 느슨한 부분, 부진, 골짜기
v. tr. - 기세를 늦추다, (석회를) 소화하다, (책임 등을) 회피하다
v. intr. - 느슨해지다, (기세가) 약해지다, 아무렇게나 하다
adv. - 느슨하게, 아무렇게나, 활발하지 않게

idioms:

• slack off    힘을 늦추다, 일손을 놓다

2.
n. - 분탄, 지스러기탄

3.
n. - 작은 골짜기, 작게 파인 곳

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - ゆるんだ, ゆるい, ろい, いいかげんな, 元気のない, 不景気な
n. - ゆるんだ部分, 不振, よどみ, たるみ
v. - ゆるめる, たるませる, 怠ける, 弱まる

idioms:

• slack off    力をゆるめる, 仕事をやめかける
• slack water    憩潮, よどみ
• take/pick up the slack    たるみを引き締める, たるみを直す

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) متوان, مهمل (الاسم) رخو (فعل) يخفف, يتوانى في, يهمل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮רפה, רפוי, חלש, קלוש, רשלני, איטי, חסר-מרץ, נרפה, עצלן‬
n. - ‮עצלן, רפיון, קלישות, אבק-פחם, מכנסיים, מכנסי יום-יום, חלק רפוי של חבל‬
v. tr. - ‮ריפה (חבל וכו'), האט‬
v. intr. - ‮התרשל, התבטל, התעצל, התרפה‬
adv. - ‮ברפיון, לאט, באופן לא-מספיק‬
n. - ‮אבק-פחם, גושי פחם‬
n. - ‮עמק או חלל קטן‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.