Link Centre Dictionary

tack

US/tæk/ fairly common slang
verb (6) noun (6)

verb

1.

fasten with tacks

  • “tack the notice on the board”
2.

turn into the wind

  • “The sailors decided to tack the boat”
  • “The boat tacked”
Synonyms
3.

make by putting pieces together

  • “She pieced a quilt”
  • “He tacked together some verses”
Synonyms
Antonyms
4.

sew together loosely, with large stitches

  • “baste a hem”
Synonyms
5.

fix to; attach

  • “append a charm to the necklace”
Synonyms
6.

noun

1.

the heading or position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails

2.

a short nail with a sharp point and a large head

3.
4.

(nautical) a line (rope or chain) that regulates the angle at which a sail is set in relation to the wind

Synonyms
5.

(nautical) the act of changing tack

Synonyms
6.

Origin

From Middle English tak, takke (“hook; staple; nail”), from Old Northern French taque (“nail, pin, peg”), from Frankish *takkō (“twig, branch, shoot”), of unknown origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dHgʰ-n-, from the root *déHgʰ- (“to pinch; to tear, rip, fray”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Takke (“bough; branch; twig”), West Frisian takke (“branch”), tûk (“branch, smart, sharp”), Dutch tak (“twig; branch; limb”), German Zacke (“jag; prong; spike; tooth; peak”).

Phrases

  • change of tack
  • coffin tack
  • down tack
  • false tack
  • get down to brass tacks
  • hold tack
  • on the tack
  • sharp as a tack
  • tack about
  • tack down
  • tack on
  • tack together

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.