Nearby Words
Synonyms

slacker

[slak-er] Origin

slack·er

[slak-er]
noun
1.
a person who evades his or her duty or work; shirker.
2.
a person who evades military service.
3.
an especially educated young person who is antimaterialistic, purposeless, apathetic, and usually works in a dead-end job.

Origin:
1790–1800; slack1 + -er1; def. 3 popularized by the film Slackers (1991)


1. malingerer, dodger, laggard.

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Slacker is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

slack

1[slak]
adjective
1.
not tight, taut, firm, or tense; loose: a slack rope.
2.
negligent; careless; remiss: slack proofreading.
3.
slow, sluggish, or indolent: He is slack in answering letters.
4.
not active or busy; dull; not brisk: the slack season in an industry.
5.
moving very slowly, as the tide, wind, or water.
EXPAND
6.
weak; lax.
7.
Nautical. easy (def. 15a).
COLLAPSE
adverb
8.
in a slack manner.
noun
9.
a slack condition or part.
10.
the part of a rope, sail, or the like, that hangs loose, without strain upon it.
11.
a decrease in activity, as in business or work: a sudden slack in output.
12.
a period of decreased activity.
13.
Geography. a cessation in a strong flow, as of a current at its turn.
EXPAND
14.
a depression between hills, in a hillside, or in the land surface.
15.
Prosody. (in sprung rhythm) the unaccented syllable or syllables.
16.
British Dialect. a morass; marshy ground; a hollow or dell with soft, wet ground at the bottom.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
17.
to be remiss in respect to (some matter, duty, right, etc.); shirk; leave undone: He slacked the most important part.
18.
to make or allow to become less active, vigorous, intense, etc.; relax (efforts, labor, speed, etc.); lessen; moderate (often followed by up).
19.
to make loose, or less tense or taut, as a rope; loosen (often followed by off or out).
20.
to slake (lime).
verb (used without object)
21.
to be remiss; shirk one's duty or part.
22.
to become less active, vigorous, rapid, etc. (often followed by up): Business is slacking up.
23.
to become less tense or taut, as a rope; to ease off.
24.
to become slaked, as lime.
25.
take up the slack,
a.
to pull in or make taut a loose section of a rope, line, wire, etc.: Take up the slack before releasing the kite.
b.
to provide or compensate for something that is missing or incomplete: New sources of oil will take up the slack resulting from the embargo.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English slac (adj.), Old English sleac, slæc; cognate with Old Norse slakr, Old High German slach, Latin laxus lax

slack·ing·ly, adverb
slack·ly, adverb
slack·ness, noun
un·slacked, adjective
un·slack·ing, adjective


1. relaxed. 2. lazy, weak. 3. dilatory, tardy, late. 4. idle, quiet. 11. slowing, relaxation. 17. neglect. 18. reduce, slacken. 21. malinger.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
slacker (ˈslækə)
 
n
1.  a person who evades work or duty; shirker
2.  informal
 a.  an educated young adult characterized by cynicism and apathy
 b.  (as modifier): slacker culture

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

slack
1794, "loose part or end" (of a rope, sail, etc.), from slack (adj.); hense fig. senses in take up the slack (1930) and slang cut (someone) some slack (1968). Meaning "quiet period, lull" is from 1851. Slacks "loose trousers" first recorded 1824, originally military.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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