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tack
tack1 / tak/ • n. 1. a small, sharp, broad-headed nail. ∎ a thumbtack. 2. a long stitch used to fasten fabrics together temporarily, prior to permanent sewing. 3. Sailing an act of changing course by turning a vessel's head into and through the wind, so as to bring the wind on the opposite side. ∎ a boat's course relative to the direction of the wind: the brig bowled past on the opposite tack. ∎ a distance sailed between such changes of course. ∎ fig. a method of dealing with a situation or problem; a course of action or policy: as she could not stop him from going she tried another tack and insisted on going with him. 4. Sailing a rope for securing the weather clew of a course. ∎ the weather clew of a course, or the lower forward corner of a fore-and-aft sail. 5. the quality of being sticky: cooking the sugar to caramel gives tack to the texture. • v. 1. [tr.] fasten or fix in place with tacks: he used the tool to tack down sheets of fiberboard. ∎ fasten (pieces of cloth) together temporarily with long stitches. ∎ (tack something on) add or append something to something already existing: long-term savings plans with some life insurance tacked on. 2. [intr.] Sailing change course by turning a boat's head into and through the wind.Compare with wear2 . ∎ [tr.] alter the course of (a boat) in such a way. ∎ make a series of such changes of course while sailing: she spent the entire night tacking back and forth. ∎ fig. make a change in one's conduct, policy, or direction of attention: he answered, but she had tacked and was on a new tangent. PHRASES: on the port (or starboard) tack Sailing with the wind coming from the port (or starboard) side of the boat.DERIVATIVES: tack·er n. tack2 • n. equipment used in horseback riding, including the saddle and bridle. • v. [tr.] (usu. tack up) put tack on (a horse): he was cooperative about being tacked up and groomed. |
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Cite this article
"tack." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "tack." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-tack.html "tack." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-tack.html |
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tack
tack n.
1. an act of changing course by turning a vessel's head into and through the wind, so as to bring the wind on the opposite side. 2. a boat's course relative to the direction of the wind: the brig bowled past on the opposite tack. 3. a distance sailed between such changes of course. 4. a rope for securing the weather clew of a course. 5. the weather clew of a course, or the lower forward corner of a fore-and-aft sail. v. 1. change course by turning a boat's head into and through the wind. Compare with wear 2). from the practice of shifting ropes to change direction. 2. alter the course of (a boat) in such a way. 3. make a series of such changes of course while sailing: she spent the entire night tacking back and forth. on the port or starboard tack with the wind coming from the port (or starboard) side of the boat. |
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Cite this article
"tack." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "tack." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-tack.html "tack." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-tack.html |
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tack
tack.
1. A board or reach sailed in a sailing vessel with the wind kept on one side of the vessel. See also leg; port tack; starboard tack. 2. The name given to the lower forward corner of a sail in a fore-and-aft rig. 3. In square-rigged sailing ships, it is the name of the rope used to hold in the weather lower corners of courses and staysails when sailing close hauled. Also, when studding sails were set, it was the name given to the rope employed to haul out the lower outer clew of the sail to the end of the boom. 4. When used as a verb, it describes the operation of bringing a sailing vessel head to wind and across it so as to bring the wind on the opposite side of the vessel. |
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Cite this article
"tack." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "tack." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-tack.html "tack." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-tack.html |
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tack
tack1
A. fastening, as a clasp, sharp-pointed nail, etc. XIV. B. (naut.) rope, wire, etc. to secure sails XV. Parallel to later tach(e), the two forms presumably repr. OF. vars. *taque, (dial.) tache. So tack vb. A. †attach XIV; fasten loosely or temporarily XV; B. (naut.; from sense B of the sb.) shift the tacks in going about XVI. |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "tack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "tack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-tack.html T. F. HOAD. "tack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-tack.html |
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tack
tack2 food-stuff, as in hard t. ship's biscuit, XIX. of unkn. orig.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "tack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "tack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-tack1.html T. F. HOAD. "tack." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-tack1.html |
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tack
tack
•aback, alack, attack, back, black, brack, clack, claque, crack, Dirac, drack, flack, flak, hack, jack, Kazakh, knack, lack, lakh, mac, mach, Nagorno-Karabakh, pack, pitchblack, plaque, quack, rack, sac, sack, shack, shellac, slack, smack, snack, stack, tach, tack, thwack, track, vac, wack, whack, wrack, yak, Zack
•cardiac • zodiac
•haemophiliac (US hemophiliac), necrophiliac, sacroiliac
•umiak
•bibliomaniac, dipsomaniac, egomaniac, kleptomaniac, maniac, megalomaniac, monomaniac, nymphomaniac, pyromaniac
•insomniac • celeriac • Syriac
•hypochondriac • Mauriac • theriac
•amnesiac
•aphrodisiac, Dionysiac
•Dayak, kayak
•Kerouac • bivouac
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Cite this article
"tack." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "tack." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-tack.html "tack." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-tack.html |
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