Definition of 'tack'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense tacks
, present participle tacking
, past tense, past participle tacked
1. countable noun
A tack is a short nail with a broad, flat head, especially one that is used for fastening carpets to the floor.
2. See also thumbtack
4. verb
She had recently taken a poster from the theatre and tacked it up on the wall. [VERB noun with adverb]
5.
See to change tack
6. verb
If a sailing boat is tacking or if the people in it tack it, it is sailing towards a particular point in a series of sideways movements rather than in a straight line.
Our last trip involved a coastal passage, tacking east against wind and current. [VERB adverb/preposition]
[Also VERB noun preposition/adverb] 7. verb
Phrasal verbs:
See tack on
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
tack in British English 1
noun
1.
a short sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat and comparatively large head
3. See tailor's-tack
4.
a temporary fastening
6. nautical
9. nautical
the forward lower clew of a fore-and-aft sail
verb
17. (intransitive) nautical
(of a sailing vessel) to proceed on a different tack or to alternate tacks
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
tackless (ˈtackless) adjective
Word origin
C14 tak fastening, nail; related to Middle Low German tacke pointed instrument
Word Frequency
tack in British English 2
noun
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C19: of unknown origin
Word Frequency
tack in British English 4
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
C15: from tak a Scots word for takeWord Frequency
tack in American English
noun
1.
2.
a.
the act of fastening, esp. in a slight or temporary way
b. Sewing
: in full tailor's tack
c.
stickiness; adhesiveness
3.
a zigzag course, or movement in such a course
verb transitive
8.
to fasten or attach with tacks
9.
to attach temporarily, as by sewing with long stitches
11. Horse Riding
to put a saddle, bridle, etc. on (a horse)
often with up verb intransitive
13. Nautical
a.
to tack a sailing vessel
b.
to change its course by being tacked, or sail against the wind by a series of tacks
said of a sailing vessel14.
to go in a zigzag course
15.
to change suddenly one's policy or course of action
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
tacker (ˈtacker)
noun
Word Frequency
tack in American English 1
(tæk)
noun
1.
a short, sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat, broad head
2. Nautical
a.
a rope for extending the lower forward corner of a course
b.
the lower forward corner of a course or fore-and-aft sail
c.
the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction
d.
a course run obliquely against the wind
e.
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, esp. one differing from some preceding or other course
4.
one of the movements of a zigzag course on land
5.
6.
a fastening, esp. of a temporary kind
8.
9. See on the wrong tack
transitive verb
10.
to fasten by a tack or tacks
to tack a rug to the floor
11.
to secure by some slight or temporary fastening
12.
to join together; unite; combine
14. Nautical
a.
to change the course of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack
b.
to navigate (a sailing vessel) by a series of tacks
15.
to equip (a horse) with tack
intransitive verb
SYNONYMS 13. affix, fasten, add.16. Nautical
a.
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
b. (of a sailing vessel)
to change course in this way
c.
to proceed to windward by a series of courses as close to the wind as the vessel will
sail
17.
to take or follow a zigzag course or route
18.
to change one's course of action, conduct, ideas, etc.
19. (usually fol. by up)
to equip a horse with tack
Please tack up quickly
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
tacker noun
tackless
adjective
Word Frequency
tack in American English 2
(tæk)
noun
food; fare
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1740–50; orig. uncert.]Word Frequency
tack in American English 3
(tæk)
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Examples of 'tack' in a sentence
tack
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tack
Tack and equipment and their partsQuick word challenge
Quiz Review
Question: 1
-
Score: 0 / 5
Which piece of tack or equipment am I?
an adjustable strap by means of which a stirrup is attached to a riding saddle
Which piece of tack or equipment am I?
a crossbar in a horse's harness to which the ends of the traces are attached
Which piece of tack or equipment am I?
a band fastened around a horse's belly to keep a blanket in position
Which piece of tack or equipment am I?
the strap of a horse's bridle that goes across the forehead
Which piece of tack or equipment am I?
riding harness for horses, such as saddles, bridles, etc
Your score:
Trends of
tack
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In other languages
tack
British English: tack
VERB /tæk/
If you tack something to a surface, you pin it there with tacks or drawing pins.
- American English: tack /ˈtæk/
- Brazilian Portuguese: prender com tachinha
- Chinese: 用平头钉或图钉钉住
- European Spanish: fijar con chinchetas
- French: punaiser
- German: anheften
- Italian: affiggere
- Japanese: 鋲で留める
- Korean: 압정으로 고정하다
- European Portuguese: prender com tachas
- Latin American Spanish: fijar con chinchetas
- Thai: ตรึงด้วยหมุด
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