tack definition | Dictionary.com

tack

1 [tak]

–noun

1.	a short, sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat, broad head.

Nautical.

a.	a rope for extending the lower forward corner of a course.

b.	the lower forward corner of a course or fore-and-aft sail.

c.	the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction.

d.	a course run obliquely against the wind.

e.	one of the series of straight runs that make up the zigzag course of a ship proceeding to windward.

3.	a course of action or conduct, esp. one differing from some preceding or other course.

4.	one of the movements of a zigzag course on land.

5.	a stitch, esp. a long stitch used in fastening seams, preparatory to a more thorough sewing.

6.	a fastening, esp. of a temporary kind.

7.	stickiness, as of nearly dry paint or glue or of a printing ink or gummed tape; adhesiveness.

8.	the gear used in equipping a horse, including saddle, bridle, martingale, etc.

–verb (used with object)

9.	to fasten by a tack or tacks: to tack a rug to the floor.

10.	to secure by some slight or temporary fastening.

11.	to join together; unite; combine.

12.	to attach as something supplementary; append; annex (often fol. by on or onto).

13.

Nautical.

a.	to change the course of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack.

b.	to navigate (a sailing vessel) by a series of tacks.

14.	to equip (a horse) with tack.

–verb (used without object)

15.

Nautical.

a.	to change the course of a sailing vessel by bringing the head into the wind and then causing it to fall off on the other side: He ordered us to tack at once.

b.	(of a sailing vessel) to change course in this way.

c.	to proceed to windward by a series of courses as close to the wind as the vessel will sail.

16.	to take or follow a zigzag course or route.

17.	to change one's course of action, conduct, ideas, etc.

18.	to equip a horse with tack (usually fol. by up): Please tack up quickly.

—Idiom

19.	on the wrong tack, under a misapprehension; in error; astray: His line of questioning began on the wrong tack.

Origin:
1300–50; (n.) ME tak buckle, clasp, nail (later, tack); c. G Zacke prong, D tak twig; (v.) ME tacken to attach, deriv. of the n.; see tache, attach

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

tack

2 [tak]

–noun

food; fare.

Origin:
1740–50; orig. uncert.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

tack

3 [tak]

–noun Scot. and North England.

1.	a lease, esp. on farmland.

2.	a rented pasture.

3.	a catch, haul, or take of fish.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME tak < ON tak goods, seizure, grasp. See take

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tack¹ (tāk) Pronunciation Key
n.

A short, light nail with a sharp point and a flat head.
Nautical
1. A rope for holding down the weather clew of a course.
2. A rope for hauling the outer lower corner of a studdingsail to the boom.
3. The part of a sail, such as the weather clew of a course, to which this rope is fastened.
4. The lower forward corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
5. The position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails.
6. The act of changing from one position or direction to another.
7. The distance or leg sailed between changes of position or direction.
8. A course of action meant to minimize opposition to the attainment of a goal.
9. An approach, especially one of a series of changing approaches.
Nautical
1. The position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails.
2. The act of changing from one position or direction to another.
3. The distance or leg sailed between changes of position or direction.
4. A course of action meant to minimize opposition to the attainment of a goal.
5. An approach, especially one of a series of changing approaches.
1. A course of action meant to minimize opposition to the attainment of a goal.
2. An approach, especially one of a series of changing approaches.
A large, loose stitch made as a temporary binding or as a marker.
Stickiness, as that of a newly painted surface.

v. tacked, tack·ing, tacks

v. tr.

To fasten or attach with or as if with a tack: tacked the carpet down.
To fasten or mark (cloth or a seam, for example) with a loose basting stitch.
To put together loosely and arbitrarily: tacked some stories together in an attempt to write a novel.
To add as an extra item; append: tacked two dollars onto the bill.
Nautical To bring (a vessel) into the wind in order to change course or direction.

v. intr.

Nautical
1. To change the direction or course of a vessel: Stand by to tack.
2. To change tack: The ship tacked to starboard.
To change one's course of action.

[Middle English tak, fastener, from Old North French taque, probably of Germanic origin.]
tack'er n., tack'less adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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tack² (tāk) Pronunciation Key
n. Food, especially coarse or inferior foodstuffs.

[Origin unknown.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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tack³ (tāk) Pronunciation Key
n. The harness for a horse, including the bridle and saddle.

[Short for tackle.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tack (1)

"clasp, hook, fastener," 1296, from O.N.Fr. taque "nail, pin, peg," probably from a Gmc. source (cf. M.Du. tacke "twig, spike," Low Ger. takk "tine, pointed thing," Ger. Zacken "sharp point, tooth, prong"); perhaps related to tail. Meaning "small, sharp nail with a flat head" is attested from 1463. Verb sense of "to attach as a supplement" (with suggestion of hasty or arbitrary proceeding) is attested from 1683. The meaning "rope to hold the corner of a sail in place" is first recorded 1481; hence the verb meaning "sail into the wind," first recorded 1557, which lead to the fig. sense of "course or line of conduct or action" (1675).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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tack (2)

"horse's harness, etc.," 1924, shortening of tackle in sense of "equipment." Tack in a non-equestrian sense as a shortening of tackle is recorded in dialect from 1777.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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tack (3)

"food," 1833, perhaps a shortening and special use of tackle in the sense of "gear." Hard-tack was originally "ship's biscuit," soft-tack being bread.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

tack
noun
1.	the heading or position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails
2.	a short nail with a sharp point and a large head
3.	gear for a horse [syn: stable gear]
4.	(nautical) a line (rope or chain) that regulates the angle at which a sail is set in relation to the wind [syn: sheet]
5.	(nautical) the act of changing tack
6.	sailing a zigzag course
verb
1.	fasten with tacks; "tack the notice on the board"
2.	turn into the wind; "The sailors decided to tack the boat"; "The boat tacked"
3.	create by putting components or members together; "She pieced a quilt"; "He tacked together some verses"; "They set up a committee" [syn: assemble] [ant: break apart]
4.	sew together loosely, with large stitches; "baste a hem" [syn: baste]
5.	fix to; attach; "append a charm to the necklace" [syn: append]
6.	reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action) [syn: interchange]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

tack

see get down to brass tacks; on the right tack; sharp as a tack.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: tack
Function: transitive verb
: to combine (a use, possession, or period of time) with that of another esp. in order to satisfy the statutory time period for acquiring title to or a prescriptive easement in the property of a third party tack successive adverse possessions of land —Hall v. Kerlee, 461 South Eastern Reporter, Second Series 911 (1995)>

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tack

Tack\, n. [From an old or dialectal form of F. tache. See Techy.]

1. A stain; a tache. [Obs.]

2. [Cf. L. tactus.] A peculiar flavor or taint; as, a musty tack. [Obs. or Colloq.] --Drayton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tack

Tack\, n. [OE. tak, takke, a fastening; akin to D. tak a branch, twig, G. zacke a twig, prong, spike, Dan. takke a tack, spike; cf. also Sw. tagg prickle, point, Icel. t[=a]g a willow twig, Ir. taca a peg, nail, fastening, Gael. tacaid, Armor. & Corn. tach; perhaps akin to E. take. Cf. Attach, Attack, Detach, Tag an end, Zigzag.]

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

2. That which is attached; a supplement; an appendix. See Tack, v. t., 3. --Macaulay.

Some tacks had been made to money bills in King Charles's time. --Bp. Burnet.

3. (Naut.) (a) 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. (b) 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). (c) 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.

4. (Scots Law) A contract by which the use of a thing is set, or let, for hire; a lease. --Burrill.

5. Confidence; reliance. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.

Tack of a flag (Naut.), a line spliced into the eye at the foot of the hoist for securing the flag to the halyards.

Tack pins (Naut.), belaying pins; -- also called jack pins.

To haul the tacks aboard (Naut.), to set the courses.

To hold tack, to last or hold out. --Milton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tack

Tack\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tacked; p. pr. & vb. n. Tacking.] [Cf. OD. tacken to touch, take, seize, fix, akin to E. take. See Tack a small nail.]

1. To fasten or attach. "In hopes of getting some commendam tacked to their sees." --Swift.

And tacks the center to the sphere. --Herbert.

2. 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.

3. In parliamentary usage, to add (a supplement) to a bill; to append; -- often with on or to. --Macaulay.

4. (Naut.) 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.

Note: In tacking, a vessel is brought to point at first directly to windward, and then so that the wind will blow against the other side.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tack

Tack\, v. i. (Naut.) 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.

Monk, . . . when he wanted his ship to tack to larboard, moved the mirth of his crew by calling out, "Wheel to the left." --Macaulay.

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