Slack

Part of speech: noun (n.)

Small coal; also, coal dust; culm. Raymond.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

A valley, or small, shallow dell. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it; as, the slack of a rope or of a sail.

Part of speech: adjective (a.)

1. Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended; as, a slack rope.

2. Weak; not holding fast; as, a slack hand. Milton.

3. Remiss; backward; not using due diligence or care; not earnest or eager; as, slack in duty or service. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness. 2 Pet. iii. 9.

4. Not violent, rapid, or pressing; slow; moderate; easy; as, business is slack. "With slack pace." Chaucer. Cslack southwest, at midnight was becalmed. Milton. Slack in stays (Naut.), slow in going about, as a ship. -- Slack water, the time when the tide runs slowly, or the water is at rest; or the interval between the flux and reflux of the tide. -- Slack-water navigation, navigation in a stream the depth of which has been increased, and the current diminished, by a dam or dams.

Synonyms: Loose; relaxed; weak; remiss; backward; abated; diminished; inactive; slow; tardy; dull.

Part of speech: adverb (adv.)

Slackly; as, slack dried hops.