- the part of a rope, etc. that is hanging loosely
- There's too much slack in the tow rope.
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- people, money or space that should be used more fully in an organization
- There's very little slack in the budget.
- 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
See slack in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarycut 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.
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slack