tack

noun

/tæk/

Idioms

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[uncountable, singular] the way in which you deal with a particular situation; the direction of your words or thoughts
- a complete change of tack
- It was a brave decision to change tack in the middle of the project.
- When threats failed, she decided to try/take a different tack.
- His thoughts wandered off on another tack.
- I find gentle persuasion is the best tack.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- right
- wrong
- different
- …
verb + tack
- adopt
- go off on
- take
- …
preposition
- on a/the tack
phrases
- a change of tack
See full entry
[countable, uncountable] (specialist) the direction that a boat with sails takes as it sails at an angle to the wind in order to fill its sails
- They were sailing on (a) port/starboard tack (= with the wind coming from the left/right side).
- The yacht swung to the opposite tack.
Topics Transport by waterc2
[countable] a small nail with a sharp point and a flat head, used especially for fixing a carpet to the floor
- a carpet tack
compare nail
(also thumbtack (both North American English), British English drawing pin)
[countable] a short pin with a large round, flat head, used especially for fastening paper to a board or wall see also Blu-tack™
[countable] a long, loose stitch used for holding pieces of cloth together temporarily, before you sew them finally
Wordfinder
- baste
- bind
- embroidery
- hem
- lining
- seam
- sew
- stitch
- tack
- thread
[uncountable] (specialist) the equipment that you need for riding a horse, such as a saddle and bridle
- a tack room (= the room where this equipment is kept)
Wordfinder
- bridle
- gallop
- harness
- horse
- paddock
- rein
- stable
- stirrup
- tack
- thoroughbred

Word Originnoun senses 1 to 5 Middle English (in the general sense ‘something that fastens one thing to another’): probably related to Old French tache ‘clasp, large nail’. noun sense 6 late 18th cent. (originally dialect in the general sense ‘apparatus, equipment’): contraction of tackle. The current sense dates from the 1920s.

Idioms

(get down to) brass tacks

(informal) (to start to consider) the basic facts or practical details of something

tack

verb

/tæk/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they tack	/tæk/ /tæk/
he / she / it tacks	/tæks/ /tæks/
past simple tacked	/tækt/ /tækt/
past participle tacked	/tækt/ /tækt/
-ing form tacking	/ˈtækɪŋ/ /ˈtækɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

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[transitive] tack something + adv./prep. to fasten something in place with a tack or tacks synonym nail
- The carpet was tacked to the floor.
Extra Examples
- A poster was tacked to the wall with drawing pins.
- He tacked the carpet down.
[transitive] tack something (+ adv./prep.) to fasten pieces of cloth together temporarily with long, loose stitches before sewing them finally
- She tacked the sleeve of the blouse into the armhole.
Extra Examples
- She tacked the hem up and then tried the dress on.
- She tacked the ribbon onto the shirt.
- The skirt was roughly tacked together.
[intransitive] (specialist) to change the direction of a sailing boat by turning the front of the boat into and through the wind, so that the wind blows onto the sails from the opposite side; to do this several times in order to travel in the direction that the wind is coming from compare gybe

Word Originverb Middle English (in the general sense ‘something that fastens one thing to another’): probably related to Old French tache ‘clasp, large nail’.