Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use slack in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, adjective, adverb

Slack means the part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it. Example: “He ruined his new white slacks by accidentally spilling oil on them.”

Examples of slack by meaning

nounThe part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.

  • the slack of a rope or of a sail
  • take in the slack

nounA low-lying marsh or a pool, especially a tidal or intermittent one which periodically fills and drains.

  • The "slacks" I have mentioned are fresh-water pools which extend just inside the outer sandhills.1901, The Pall Mall Magazine, page 138

nounUnconditional listening attention given by client to patient.

  • The counselor is directed to give his client "free attention," or "slack," performing a kind of vigil, a version of Carl Rogers's "unconditional positive regard."1979, Richard Dean Rosen, Psychobabble, page 93

adjectiveLax; not tense; not firmly extended.

  • a slack rope

adjectiveWeak; not holding fast.

  • a slack hand

adjectiveModerately warm.

  • a slack oven

adjectiveModerate in speed.

  • a slack wind

adjectiveLacking diligence or care; not earnest or eager.

  • slack in duty or service

More sentences with slack

  • He ruined his new white slacks by accidentally spilling oil on them.From the entry ruin
  • There is a distinction to be made between resting and slacking.From the entry distinction
  • A green shirt with orange slacks really doesn't do it for me, I’m afraid.From the entry do it
  • Captain Higgins moused the hook with a bit of marline to prevent the block beckets from falling out under slack.From the entry mouse
  • The reel automatically took up the slack.From the entry take up
  • After he was reprimanded for slacking on the job, they decided to call it a day and fire Allen.From the entry call it a day
  • Emily is slacking off since this is her last semester; she completely stopped trying to make good grades.From the entry slack off
  • Thankfully the hail slacked off after a few minutes.From the entry slack off
  • He's the new kid on the block and doesn't know the way we do things around here yet. Cut him some slack and let him learn from this.From the entry cut someone some slack
  • Working a "lazy girl" job doesn't mean Gen Z workers are slacking off.2023 October 18, Paola Peralta, “What the 'lazy girl job' trend says about Gen Z's mental health”, in Employee Benefit News. From the entry lazy girl job
  • Many master tailors keep more hands than they have employment for, especially in the slack.2017, Darlene A. Cypser, The Consulting Detective Trilogy Part II: On Stage, page 48. From the entry sank work
  • She wears a tacky T.A.R.D.I.S blue cardigan, buttoned to the max, over khaki slacks.2014, Emma Gray, Groupies, Lulu Press, →ISBN, page 39. From the entry TARDIS blue
  • So he had doubled his efforts around the place to take up the slack.2013, Jill Sanders, Returning Pride, page 57. From the entry take up the slack
  • The Seasiders equalised soon after when Gary Taylor-Fletcher made the most of slack marking to slot home.2011 January 12, Saj Chowdhury, “Liverpool 2 - 1 Liverpool”, in BBC. From the entry marking
  • Believe me, my drighten, there is not one of us that has ever slacked on watch before!2010, Stephan Grundy, Beowulf. From the entry drighten
  • And the more she picked up the slack, the more he backed off and deferred to her.2010, Gillian Ranson, Against the Grain, page 129. From the entry pick up the slack
  • There had been a long running dislike between Rankin and Grabinsky; neither cut the other any slack.2009, Kenneth M. Haines, The Lion, the Leopard, and the Bear, →ISBN, page 31. From the entry tweeb
  • And no wonder a nanny state increasingly tries to pick up the slack.2008, Diana West, The Death of the Grown-Up. From the entry pick up the slack
  • Marin uses a deliberately slack, unballetic form; limbs are relaxed rather than stretched and feet are unpointed.2007 October 4, Roslyn Sulcas, “For $10, a Smorgasbord of the Popular and Daring”, in New York Times. From the entry unpointed
  • In the cool of evening I noticed Army officers were wearing slacks and vellies but no socks.2005, Peter J. H. Petter-Bowyer, Winds of Destruction, page 116. From the entry vellie
  • You need to take up the slack in your cables so shifters and brakes function properly.1996, Dave King, Michael Kaminer, The Mountain Bike Experience. From the entry take up the slack
  • His expression slack, Green Spider methodically pried out another clod and swallowed it.1995, Kathleen O'Neal Gear, W. Michael Gear, People of the Lakes, Macmillan, →ISBN. From the entry cannibal
  • He gave me a lot of pi-jaw about slacking and then invited me to tea.1991, Stephen Fry, chapter III, in The Liar, London: William Heinemann, →ISBN, page 26. From the entry old
  • He gave me a lot of pi‐jaw about slacking and then invited me to tea.1991, Stephen Fry, chapter III, in The Liar, London: William Heinemann, →ISBN, page 26. From the entry -o
  • Before merger, bidders have significantly more financial slack than a large general sample of firms.1988 June 1, Robert F. Bruner, “The Use of Excess Cash and Debt Capacity as a Motive for Merger”, in The Journal of Financial and…. From the entry overlevered
  • They would keep at that until the sun came up and then slack off.1986, Gary L. Saunders, Rattles and steadies: memoirs of a Gander River man, page 80. From the entry duckish
  • Next, take up slack equally on the two uppers until they are snug.1984, Robert Forrest Burgess, Handbook of trailer sailing, page 90. From the entry upper
  • For a change, Selina was not in slacks, but in a simple dirndl and sandals.1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 60. From the entry slacks
  • She was dressed in khaki, khaki slacks and khaki shirt, practical and workmanlike.1957, Neville Shute, chapter 3, in On the Beach, New York: William Morrow & Co. From the entry workmanlike
  • Just slip into a pair of these slacks and put yourself into circulation.1933, Stella Blum, Everyday Fashion of the Thirties as pictured in Sears Catalogs, published 1986, page 56. From the entry yowzah
  • If anybody has any vigger left in these slack times, they should be encouraged.1926, Harriett N. Connell, Petticoat Politics, A One-act Comedy, page 8. From the entry vigger

Meaning of slack

  1. noun The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.
  2. noun A dip in a surface.
  3. noun In particular, a shallow dell or hollow; a dip in the surface of terrain, such as between hills.

Full definition of slack

Questions about slack in a sentence

How do you use slack in a sentence?
Slack is used as a noun, adjective and adverb. For example: “He ruined his new white slacks by accidentally spilling oil on them.”
What is a short sentence with slack?
“a slack hand”
What does slack mean?
Slack means the part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: slack (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use slack in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/slack. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.