tack1

[tak] /tæk/
noun
1.
a short, sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat, broad head.
2.
Nautical.
  1. a rope for extending the lower forward corner of a course.
  2. the lower forward corner of a course or fore-and-aft sail.
  3. the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction.
  4. a course run obliquely against the wind.
  5. one of the series of straight runs that make up the zigzag course of a ship proceeding to windward.
3.
a course of action or conduct, especially one differing from some preceding or other course.
4.
one of the movements of a zigzag course on land.
5.
a stitch, especially a long stitch used in fastening seams, preparatory to a more thorough sewing.
6.
a fastening, especially of a temporary kind.
7.
stickiness, as of nearly dry paint or glue or of a printing ink or gummed tape; adhesiveness.
8.
the gear used in equipping a horse, including saddle, bridle, martingale, etc.
verb (used with object)
9.
to fasten by a tack or tacks:
to tack a rug to the floor.
10.
to secure by some slight or temporary fastening.
11.
to join together; unite; combine.
12.
to attach as something supplementary; append; annex (often followed by on or onto).
13.
Nautical.
  1. to change the course of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack.
  2. to navigate (a sailing vessel) by a series of tacks.
14.
to equip (a horse) with tack.
verb (used without object)
15.
Nautical.
  1. 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.
  2. (of a sailing vessel) to change course in this way.
  3. to proceed to windward by a series of courses as close to the wind as the vessel will sail.
16.
to take or follow a zigzag course or route.
17.
to change one's course of action, conduct, ideas, etc.
18.
to equip a horse with tack (usually followed by up):
Please tack up quickly.
Idioms
19.
on the wrong tack, under a misapprehension; in error; astray:
His line of questioning began on the wrong tack.
Origin
1300-50; (noun) Middle English tak buckle, clasp, nail (later, tack); cognate with German Zacke prong, Dutch tak twig; (v.) Middle English tacken to attach, derivative of the noun; see tache, attach
Related forms
tacker, noun
tackless, adjective
Can be confused
tacks, tax.
Synonyms
12. affix, fasten, add.

tack2

[tak] /tæk/
noun
1.
food; fare.
Origin
1740-50; origin uncertain

tack3

[tak] /tæk/
noun, Scot. and North England
1.
a lease, especially on farmland.
2.
a rented pasture.
3.
a catch, haul, or take of fish.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English tak < Old Norse tak goods, seizure, grasp. See take
Examples from the web for tack
  • He's wise to resist short-term pressure to tack right in a primary race he's likely to win anyway.
  • Often my first horse will have her tack set, and her groom will be getting her ready.
  • Once you tack on travel costs, you're not really ahead.
  • But come the general election, the winner will tack back towards the centre, where the crucial independent voter resides.
  • Not only do small prints come out tack sharp, but you'll get beautiful enlargements too.
  • tack on a movie and late dinner to round out the day.
  • Take a vacation and tack it onto the total you want to spend.
  • But the watch battery the robot needed to carry around to do this quickly ran flat, so the team switched tack.
  • tack down the poster board and draw a circle around the plunger to ensure they remain in place.
  • So if you want to pick up a new lingo, take a new tack.
British Dictionary definitions for tack

tack1

/tæk/
noun
1.
a short sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat and comparatively large head
2.
(Brit) a long loose temporary stitch used in dressmaking, etc
3.
See tailor's-tack
4.
a temporary fastening
5.
stickiness, as of newly applied paint, varnish, etc
6.
(nautical) the heading of a vessel sailing to windward, stated in terms of the side of the sail against which the wind is pressing
7.
(nautical)
  1. a course sailed by a sailing vessel with the wind blowing from forward of the beam
  2. one such course or a zigzag pattern of such courses
8.
(nautical)
  1. a sheet for controlling the weather clew of a course
  2. the weather clew itself
9.
(nautical) the forward lower clew of a fore-and-aft sail
10.
a course of action differing from some previous course: he went off on a fresh tack
11.
on the wrong tack, under a false impression
verb
12.
(transitive) to secure by a tack or series of tacks
13.
(Brit) to sew (something) with long loose temporary stitches
14.
(transitive) to attach or append: tack this letter onto the other papers
15.
(nautical) to change the heading of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack
16.
(nautical) to steer (a sailing vessel) on alternate tacks
17.
(intransitive) (nautical) (of a sailing vessel) to proceed on a different tack or to alternate tacks
18.
(intransitive) to follow a zigzag route; keep changing one's course of action
Derived Forms
tackless, adjective
Word Origin
C14 tak fastening, nail; related to Middle Low German tacke pointed instrument

tack2

/tæk/
noun
1.
(informal) food, esp when regarded as inferior or distasteful See also hardtack
Word Origin
C19: of unknown origin

tack3

/tæk/
noun
1.
  1. riding harness for horses, such as saddles, bridles, etc
  2. (as modifier): the tack room
Word Origin
C20: shortened from tackle

tack4

/tæk/
noun (Scot)
1.
a lease
2.
an area of land held on a lease
Word Origin
C15: from tak a Scots word for take
Word Origin and History for tack
n.

"clasp, hook, fastener," also "a nail of some kind," late 13c., from Old North French taque "nail, pin, peg," probably from a Germanic source (cf. Middle Dutch tacke "twig, spike," Low German takk "tine, pointed thing," German Zacken "sharp point, tooth, prong"); perhaps related to tail. Meaning "small, sharp nail with a flat head" is attested from mid-15c. The meaning "rope to hold the corner of a sail in place" is first recorded late 14c.

"horse's harness, etc.," 1924, shortening of tackle (n.) in sense of "equipment." Tack in a non-equestrian sense as a shortening of tackle is recorded in dialect from 1777.

"food," 1833, perhaps a shortening and special use of tackle (n.) in the sense of "gear."

v.

late 14c., "to attach with a nail, etc.," from tack (n.1). Meaning "to attach as a supplement" (with suggestion of hasty or arbitrary proceeding) is from 1680s. Related: Tacked; tacking.

"sail into the wind," 1550s, from tack (n.1) in the sailing sense. Figurative sense of "course or line of conduct or action" is from 1670s. Related: Tacked; tacking.

Slang definitions & phrases for tack

tack

noun

An equestrian's equipment for riding

[1924+; an abbreviation of tackle, ''equipment'']


Idioms and Phrases with tack

tack

see: