slack (n.)

  1. dust consisting of a mixture of small coal fragments and coal dust and dirt that sifts out when coal is passed over a sieve

  2. a noticeable deterioration in performance or quality; the team went into a slump; a gradual slack in output; a drop-off in attendance; a falloff in quality

    [ Syn: slump , drop-off , falloff , falling off ]

  3. a stretch of water without current or movement; suddenly they were in a slack and the water was motionless

    [ Syn: slack water ]

  4. a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot

    [ Syn: mire , quagmire , quag , morass ]

  5. the quality of being loose (not taut); he hadnt counted on the slackness of the rope

    [ Syn: slackness ]

  6. a cord or rope or cable that is hanging loosely; he took up the slack'

    slack (adj.)

  1. not tense or taut; the old mans skin hung loose and grey; slack and wrinkled skin; slack sails; a slack rope

    [ Syn: loose ]

  2. flowing with little speed as e.g. at the turning of the tide; slack water'

  3. lacking in rigor or strictness; such lax and slipshod ways are no longer acceptable; lax in attending classes; slack in maintaining discipline

    [ Syn: lax ]

    slack (v.)

  1. avoid responsibilities and work, be idle

  2. be inattentive to, or neglect; He slacks his attention'

  3. release tension on; slack the rope'

  4. make less active or fast; He slackened his pace as he got tired; Dont relax your efforts now

    [ Syn: slacken , slack up , relax ]

  5. become slow or slower; Production slowed

    [ Syn: slow , slow down , slow up , slacken ]

  6. make less active or intense

    [ Syn: slake , abate ]

  7. become less in amount or intensity; The storm abated; The rain let up after a few hours

    [ Syn: abate , let up , slack off , die away ]

  8. cause to heat and crumble by treatment with water; slack lime

    [ Syn: slake ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.