Word.ws English Dictionary

tackled

tackled is the simple past and past participle of tackle.

Adjective

tackled (comparative more tackled, superlative most tackled)

  1. (not comparable) Made of ropes tackled together.
    • My man shall be with thee, / And bring thee cords made like a tackled stair.c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  2. (not comparable) Having been forced to the ground.
    • Tackled players must either pass the ball immediately or release it at once by placing it on the ground in any direction (ideally, the ball should be placed backward, but that isn't always possible).2011, Mathew Brown, Patrick Guthrie, Greg Growden, Rugby For Dummies, page 83
    • Incredibly dangerous, it can result in serious injury for the tackled player.2012, Ben Coles, The Rugby Pocket Bible
  3. (comparable) That was addressed as a problem or challenge.
    • At 8%, Income Inequality is the fourth most tackled research topic .2018, Raquel Sosa Elizaga, Facing An Unequal World: Challenges for Global Sociology
    • As expected, transparency is the most tackled element by literature, especially in the field of access to information.2019, Open Government, page 1217

Meaning of tackle

Verb

tackle (third-person singular simple present tackles, present participle tackling, simple past and past participle tackled)

  1. To force a person to the ground with the weight of one's own body, usually by jumping on top or slamming one's weight into them.
  2. To face or deal with, attempting to overcome or fight down.
    • The government's measures to tackle crime were insufficient.
  3. To attempt to take away a ball.
  4. To bring a ball carrier to the ground.
  5. (Singapore, colloquial) To "hit on" or pursue a person that one is interested in.
    • "Singing is the oldest, most effective and productive way to tackle girls," asserted the 37-year-old, affectionately known as Ah Guan at Tan Chang Ren Music Station.2000 June 7, Kor Kian Beng, “What's the best way to tackle girls? Sing”, in The New Paper, page 15

See all 16 meanings of tackle

Forms of tackled

comparativemore tackled
superlativemost tackled

Phrases with tackled

Questions about tackled

What does tackled mean?
Tackled means made of ropes tackled together.
What is tackled the simple past and past participle of?
Tackled is the simple past and past participle of tackle.
What part of speech is tackled?
Tackled is an adjective.

Words near tackled in the dictionary

  1. tackle-porter
  2. tackle-porters
  3. tackleable
  4. tacklebox
  5. tackleboxes
  6. tackled
  7. tacklee
  8. tacklees
  9. tacklehouse
  10. tacklehouses
  11. tackleless

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tackled (page history and authors); tackle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “tackled.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tackled. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.