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What does tack mean?

Definitions for tack
tæktack

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word tack.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. tacknoun

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

  2. tacknoun

    a short nail with a sharp point and a large head

  3. stable gear, saddlery, tacknoun

    gear for a horse

  4. sheet, tack, mainsheet, weather sheet, shroudnoun

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

  5. tack, tackingnoun

    (nautical) the act of changing tack

  6. tackverb

    sailing a zigzag course

  7. tackverb

    fasten with tacks

    "tack the notice on the board"

  8. tack, wear roundverb

    turn into the wind

    "The sailors decided to tack the boat"; "The boat tacked"

  9. assemble, piece, put together, set up, tack, tack togetherverb

    create by putting components or members together

    "She pieced a quilt"; "He tacked together some verses"; "They set up a committee"

  10. baste, tackverb

    sew together loosely, with large stitches

    "baste a hem"

  11. append, tag on, tack on, tack, hang onverb

    fix to; attach

    "append a charm to the necklace"

  12. interchange, tack, switch, alternate, flip, flip-flopverb

    reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)

Wiktionary

  1. tacknoun

    A small nail with a flat head.

  2. tacknoun

    A small, sharp, nail-like object used especially to affix thin items to thicker ones, but not heavily used in carpentry.

  3. tacknoun

    A loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth.

  4. tacknoun

    The lower corner on the leading edge of a sail relative to the direction of the wind.

  5. tacknoun

    A course or heading that enables a sailing vessel to head upwind. See also reach, gybe.

  6. tacknoun

    A direction or course of action, especially a new one.

  7. tacknoun

    The maneuver by which a sailing vessel turns its bow through the wind so that the wind changes from one side to the other.

  8. tacknoun

    The distance a sailing vessel runs between these maneuvers when working to windward; a board.

  9. tacknoun

    Any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. Saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, harnesses, martingales, and breastplates are all forms of horse tack.

  10. tackverb

    To nail with a tack (small nail with a flat head).

  11. tackverb

    To sew/stich with a tack (loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth).

  12. tackverb

    To maneuver a sailing vessel so that its bow turns through the wind, i.e. the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other.

  13. tackverb

    To add something as an extra item.

    to tack (something) onto (something)

  14. tackverb

    Often with "up"", to place the tack on a horse.

  15. tacknoun

    The stickiness of a compound, related to its cohesive and adhesive properties.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Tacknoun

    Etymology: from the verb.

    At each tack our little fleet grows less,
    And, like maim’d fowl, swim lagging on the main. Dryd.

    Martilmas beefe doth bear good tacke,
    When countrey folke do dainties lacke. Thomas Tusser.

    If this twig be made of wood
    That will hold tack, I’ll make the fur
    Fly ’bout the ears of that old cur. Hudibras, p. i.

  2. To Tackverb

    Etymology: tacher. Breton.

    Of what supreme almighty pow’r
    Is thy great arm, which spans the East and West,
    And tacks the centre to the sphere. George Herbert.

    True freedom you have well defin’d:
    But living as you list, and to your mind,
    And loosely tack’d, all must be left behind. Dryden.

    The symmetry of cloaths fancy appropriates to the wearer, tacking them to the body as if they belonged to it. Nehemiah Grew.

    Frame with sticks driven into the ground, so as to be covered with the hair-cloth, or a blanket tacked about the edges. John Mortimer, Husbandry.

    If a corner of a hanging wants a nail to fasten it, tack it up. Jonathan Swift.

    There’s but a shirt and an half in all my company; and the half shirt is two napkins tack’d together, and thrown over the shoulders like a herald’s coat without sleeves. William Shakespeare.

    I tack’d two plays together for the pleasure of variety. Dryden.

    They serve every turn that shall be demanded, in hopes of getting some commendam tacked to their sees, to the great discouragement of the inferior clergy. Jonathan Swift.

  3. To Tackverb

    To turn a ship.

    Etymology: probably from tackle.

    This verseriam they construe to be the compass, which is better interpreted the rope that turns the ship; as we say, makes it tack about. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours, b. ii.

    Seeing Holland fall into closer measures with us and Sweden, upon the triple alliance, they have tacked some points nearer France. William Temple.

    On either side they nimbly tack,
    Both strive to intercept and guide the wind. Dryden.

    They give me signs
    To tack about, and steer another way. Addison.

Wikipedia

  1. TACK

    TACK is a group of archaea acronym for Thaumarchaeota (now Nitrososphaerota), Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), and Korarchaeota, the first groups discovered. They are found in different environments ranging from acidophilic thermophiles to mesophiles and psychrophiles and with different types of metabolism, predominantly anaerobic and chemosynthetic. TACK is a clade that is close to the branch that gave rise to the eukaryotes. It has been proposed that the TACK clade be classified as Crenarchaeota and that the traditional "Crenarchaeota" (Thermoproteota) be classified as a class called "Sulfolobia", along with the other phyla with class rank or order.

ChatGPT

  1. tack

    Tack refers to various things in different contexts: 1) In sailing, it refers to change in direction by turning a boat's head into and through the wind. 2) It can also refer to equipment used in horse riding, including saddles, stirrups, bridals, halters, reins, bits, harnesses, and other supporting equipment. 3) In general, it refers to a small, sharp, often short nail, with a broad flat head. 4) It can also mean an approach or method in handling situations or solving a problem. 5) In terms of food, tack refers to food suitable for consumption. 6) In adhesion, tack refers to the stickiness of a surface.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Tacknoun

    a stain; a tache

  2. Tacknoun

    a peculiar flavor or taint; as, a musty tack

  3. Tacknoun

    a small, short, sharp-pointed nail, usually having a broad, flat head

  4. Tacknoun

    that which is attached; a supplement; an appendix. See Tack, v. t., 3

  5. Tackverb

    a rope used to hold in place the foremost lower corners of the courses when the vessel is closehauled (see Illust. of Ship); also, a rope employed to pull the lower corner of a studding sail to the boom

  6. Tackverb

    the part of a sail to which the tack is usually fastened; the foremost lower corner of fore-and-aft sails, as of schooners (see Illust. of Sail)

  7. Tackverb

    the direction of a vessel in regard to the trim of her sails; as, the starboard tack, or port tack; -- the former when she is closehauled with the wind on her starboard side; hence, the run of a vessel on one tack; also, a change of direction

  8. Tackverb

    a contract by which the use of a thing is set, or let, for hire; a lease

  9. Tackverb

    confidence; reliance

  10. Tackverb

    to fasten or attach

  11. Tackverb

    especially, to attach or secure in a slight or hasty manner, as by stitching or nailing; as, to tack together the sheets of a book; to tack one piece of cloth to another; to tack on a board or shingle; to tack one piece of metal to another by drops of solder

  12. Tackverb

    in parliamentary usage, to add (a supplement) to a bill; to append; -- often with on or to

  13. Tackverb

    to change the direction of (a vessel) when sailing closehauled, by putting the helm alee and shifting the tacks and sails so that she will proceed to windward nearly at right angles to her former course

  14. Tackverb

    to change the direction of a vessel by shifting the position of the helm and sails; also (as said of a vessel), to have her direction changed through the shifting of the helm and sails. See Tack, v. t., 4

Wikidata

  1. Tack

    Tack is a term used in sailing that has different meanings in different contexts, variously a part of a sail, and an alignment with the wind. When using the latter sense, the maneuver of turning between starboard and port tack is either tacking or jibing.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Tack

    tak, n. a short, sharp nail with a broad head: a fastening, a long temporary stitch: the weather clew or foremost lower corner of any of the courses, or of any sail set with a boom or gaff, or of a flag, also the rope by which such clew or tack is confined or fastened: the course of a ship in reference to the position of her sails: a determinate course, the art of tacking, hence a change of policy, a strategical move: a shelf for drying cheese: term of a lease: adhesiveness, sticky condition, as of varnish, &c.—v.t. to attach or fasten, esp. in a slight manner, as by tacks.—v.i. to change the course or tack of a ship by shifting the position of the sails: to shift one's position, to veer.—adj. Tack′y, adhesive, viscous. [Most prob. Celt., Ir. taca, a pin, Bret. tach, a nail.]

  2. Tack

    tak, n. (prov.) any distinctive and permanent flavour.

  3. Tack

    tak, n. food generally, fare, esp. of the bread kind, as hard tack, soft tack, &c.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. tack

    A rope to confine the weather lower corners of the courses and staysails when the wind crosses the ship's course obliquely. Also, the rope employed to haul out the lower outer clue of a studding-sail to the boom-end. With jibs and fore-and-aft sails, the tack confines them amidships. A ship is said to be on the tack of the side from which the wind comes: even if it be on the quarter.--To tack. To go about, to change the course from one board to another from the starboard to the port tack, or vice versâ. It is done by turning the ship's head suddenly to the wind, whereby her head-sails are thrown aback, and cause her to fall off from the wind to the other tack. The opposite to wearing.

Suggested Resources

  1. TACK

    What does TACK stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the TACK acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. TACK

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Tack is ranked #17033 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Tack surname appeared 1,668 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Tack.

    90.7% or 1,513 total occurrences were White.
    2.9% or 49 total occurrences were Black.
    2.5% or 42 total occurrences were Asian.
    2.5% or 42 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    0.9% or 15 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.4% or 7 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of tack in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of tack in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of tack in a Sentence

  1. Manuel Valls:

    There is no question of changing tack, even if adjustments are always possible.

  2. Chet Thompson:

    We hope to be able to convince the president to change tack ... He is being misinformed, he is being misguided by some of his closest advisers.

  3. Austin Nunn:

    That's the good news. The bad news is every single time( Milos Raonic steps) it literally feels like Milos Raonic's stepping on a tack or jellyfish, is the equivalent, milos Raonic is trying to get ready to play the French Open.

  4. Element Pointe Dominguez:

    You need a combination of active versus passive investments, the problem with active funds is that you can outperform by picking good stocks. But once you tack on management fees, it's hard to beat a broader market ETF.

  5. Stephen Colbert:

    The way I was going to approach talking to him about this subject, which I knew he didn’t want to talk about, was people in the movie talk about rumors of sexual impropriety by one of the characters. At like minute 42, one of the characters says ‘can you separate the artist from the rumors about him?’ How would you answer that question? That was going to be my tack.

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Popularity rank by frequency of use

tack#10000#15194#100000

References

Translations for tack

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • křižováníCzech
  • tackDanish
  • heften, Wende, wendenGerman
  • πρόκαGreek
  • añadir, agregar, con, rumbo, tachuela, curso de accion, voltejear, curso, sujetarSpanish
  • میخPersian
  • harsia, liittää, valjastaa, kurssi, kursia, halssikulma, satuloida, tehdä, harsinta, satulointi, halssi, vendata, tahmeus, nupi, venda, valjaat, etukulma, vastakäännös, kylkiäinen, suunta, luoviFinnish
  • virement lof pour lof, harnachement, harnais, louvoyerFrench
  • מכלבHebrew
  • 택Korean
  • fooschenLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
  • pine, whakaripiMāori
  • overstag gaanDutch
  • клейкость, прикреплять, липкость, курс, намётка, стежок, гвоздик, клёпка, кнопка, галс, лавироватьRussian
  • nubba, nubb, kursSwedish
  • haernaxhmint, haernas, haerna, atelêye, atelêyesWalloon

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"tack." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/tack>.

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    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    A loom
    B cleave
    C abase
    D abduct

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