Tack

/tæk/

Meaning & Definition

noun

A small sharp nail with a flat head, used for fastening things together.

She used a tack to pin the notice to the bulletin board.

A course or direction taken.

The team decided to change their tack and approach the problem differently.

verb

To fasten or attach something using tacks.

He tacked the poster to the wall with several small tacks.

To change direction, especially in sailing.

The captain tacked the ship to catch the wind more effectively.

Middle English 'tacke', of unknown origin.

get on the right tack

To start doing something correctly.

tack on

To add something extra.

take a different tack

To change the approach one is taking.

tacking

The process of fastening with tacks.

untack

To remove or take out tacks.

To tack on means to add something, often without giving much thought.

I just tacked on a few extra slides in the presentation.

Tack may also refer to changing one's approach in informal contexts.

When the project stalled, we decided to tack and try a new strategy.