˜yÐÄvlog

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tack

1

[ tak ]

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)

  1. to fasten by a tack or tacks:

    to tack a rug to the floor.

  2. to secure by some slight or temporary fastening.
  3. to join together; unite; combine.
  4. to attach as something supplementary; append; annex (often followed by on or onto ).

    Synonyms: , ,

  5. 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.
  6. to equip (a horse) with tack.

verb (used without object)

  1. 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.
  2. to take or follow a zigzag course or route.
  3. to change one's course of action, conduct, ideas, etc.
  4. to equip a horse with tack (usually followed by up ):

    Please tack up quickly.

tack

2

[ tak ]

noun

tack

3

[ tak ]

noun

Scot. and North England.
  1. a lease, especially on farmland.
  2. a rented pasture.
  3. a catch, haul, or take of fish.

tack

1

/ ³Ùæ°ì /

noun

  1. a short sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat and comparatively large head
  2. a long loose temporary stitch used in dressmaking, etc
  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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. tr to secure by a tack or series of tacks
  2. to sew (something) with long loose temporary stitches
  3. tr to attach or append

    tack this letter onto the other papers

  4. nautical to change the heading of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack
  5. nautical to steer (a sailing vessel) on alternate tacks
  6. intr nautical (of a sailing vessel) to proceed on a different tack or to alternate tacks
  7. intr to follow a zigzag route; keep changing one's course of action
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tack

2

/ ³Ùæ°ì /

noun

  1. informal.
    food, esp when regarded as inferior or distasteful See also hardtack
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tack

3

/ ³Ùæ°ì /

noun

    1. riding harness for horses, such as saddles, bridles, etc
    2. ( as modifier )

      the tack room

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tack

4

/ ³Ùæ°ì /

noun

  1. a lease
  2. an area of land held on a lease
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ³Ù²¹³¦°ì±ô±ð²õ²õ, adjective
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Other ˜yÐÄvlogs From

  • ³Ù²¹³¦°ìİù noun
  • ³Ù²¹³¦°ìl±ð²õ²õ adjective
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of tack1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tak, take, takke “buckle, clasp, nail†(later, “tackâ€); “protective metal plate (on a cart),†from Old North French taque “back of a chimneyâ€; cognate with German Zacke “prong, point,†Dutch tak “twig, boughâ€; the verb is derivative of the noun; tache, attach

Origin of tack2

First recorded in 1740–50; origin uncertain

Origin of tack3

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English tak, takke, tac “fee paid to a lord, customary fee,†from Old Norse tak “hold, grasp, seizure, goodsâ€; take
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of tack1

C14 tak fastening, nail; related to Middle Low German tacke pointed instrument

Origin of tack2

C19: of unknown origin

Origin of tack3

C20: shortened from tackle

Origin of tack4

C15: from tak a Scots word for take
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Idioms and Phrases

  1. 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 .
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Example Sentences

Will Smith, off to a blistering start with a team-best .467 batting average, tacked on an RBI single in the fifth.

From

The Dodgers tacked on four more runs in the eighth.

From

If ministers tack too far in any of these directions, they will probably undermine at least one of the other two, so you can see how fraught this is.

From

His plays demonstrate a fierce effort to get down to brass tacks.

From

The Independent's three-star review says the show "sticks to the original movie like chewing gum to the underside of a school desk" at first, but changes tack by the second half.

From

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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.

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