Advertisement
Advertisement
tack
1[ tak ]
noun
- a short, sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat, broad head.
- Nautical.
- a rope for extending the lower forward corner of a course.
- the lower forward corner of a course or fore-and-aft sail.
- the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction.
- a course run obliquely against the wind.
- one of the series of straight runs that make up the zigzag course of a ship proceeding to windward.
- a course of action or conduct, especially one differing from some preceding or other course.
- one of the movements of a zigzag course on land.
- a stitch, especially a long stitch used in fastening seams, preparatory to a more thorough sewing.
- a fastening, especially of a temporary kind.
- stickiness, as of nearly dry paint or glue or of a printing ink or gummed tape; adhesiveness.
- the gear used in equipping a horse, including saddle, bridle, martingale, etc.
verb (used with object)
- to fasten by a tack or tacks:
to tack a rug to the floor.
- to secure by some slight or temporary fastening.
- to attach as something supplementary; append; annex (often followed by on or onto ).
- Nautical.
- to change the course of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack.
- to navigate (a sailing vessel) by a series of tacks.
- to equip (a horse) with tack.
verb (used without object)
- Nautical.
- to change the course of a sailing vessel by bringing the head into the wind and then causing it to fall off on the other side:
He ordered us to tack at once.
- (of a sailing vessel) to change course in this way.
- to proceed to windward by a series of courses as close to the wind as the vessel will sail.
- to take or follow a zigzag course or route.
- to change one's course of action, conduct, ideas, etc.
- to equip a horse with tack (usually followed by up ):
Please tack up quickly.
tack
3[ tak ]
noun
- a lease, especially on farmland.
- a rented pasture.
- a catch, haul, or take of fish.
tack
1/ tæk /
noun
- a short sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat and comparatively large head
- a long loose temporary stitch used in dressmaking, etc
- See tailor's-tack
- a temporary fastening
- stickiness, as of newly applied paint, varnish, etc
- nautical the heading of a vessel sailing to windward, stated in terms of the side of the sail against which the wind is pressing
- nautical
- a course sailed by a sailing vessel with the wind blowing from forward of the beam
- one such course or a zigzag pattern of such courses
- nautical
- a sheet for controlling the weather clew of a course
- the weather clew itself
- nautical the forward lower clew of a fore-and-aft sail
- a course of action differing from some previous course
he went off on a fresh tack
- on the wrong tackunder a false impression
verb
- tr to secure by a tack or series of tacks
- to sew (something) with long loose temporary stitches
- tr to attach or append
tack this letter onto the other papers
- nautical to change the heading of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack
- nautical to steer (a sailing vessel) on alternate tacks
- intr nautical (of a sailing vessel) to proceed on a different tack or to alternate tacks
- intr to follow a zigzag route; keep changing one's course of action
tack
2/ tæk /
noun
- informal.food, esp when regarded as inferior or distasteful See also hardtack
tack
3/ tæk /
noun
- riding harness for horses, such as saddles, bridles, etc
- ( as modifier )
the tack room
tack
4/ tæk /
noun
- a lease
- an area of land held on a lease
Derived Forms
- ˈtackless, adjective
Other Words From
- tacker noun
- tackless adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of tack1
Origin of tack2
Word History and Origins
Origin of tack1
Origin of tack2
Origin of tack3
Origin of tack4
Idioms and Phrases
- on the wrong tack, under a misapprehension; in error; astray:
His line of questioning began on the wrong tack.
More idioms and phrases containing tack
see get down to brass tacks ; on the right tack ; sharp as a tack .Example Sentences
His answer followed a similar tack to several federal agencies who spoke on the drones earlier this week: providing no concrete answers while trying to strike a calming tone.
But when it came to brass tacks, to financial compensation, they were not.
Though Breed has never been a bleeding-heart progressive, she tacked right in recent years, championing policies to more aggressively move homeless people off the streets and give police more authority and resources to tackle crime.
As with other demographic groups, experts said concerns about inflation, crime and immigration likely fueled the rightward tack among Asian American voters.
Broadway-bound musical “The Devil Wears Prada,” premiering in Chicago, tries a different tack with the story about a woman hired at a fashion magazine.
Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse