tack: Meaning and Definition of

tack

1. a short, sharp-pointed nail, usually with a flat, broad head.
1. a rope for extending the lower forward corner of a course.
2. the lower forward corner of a course or fore-and-aft sail. See diag. undersail.
3. the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction.
4. a course run obliquely against the wind.
5. 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.
9. under a misapprehension; in error; astray: His line of questioning began on the wrong tack.

1. to fasten by a tack or tacks: to tack a rug to the floor.
2. to secure by some slight or temporary fastening.
3. to join together; unite; combine.
4. to attach as something supplementary; append; annex (often fol. by on or onto).
1. to change the course of (a sailing vessel) to the opposite tack.
2. to navigate (a sailing vessel) by a series of tacks.
6. to equip (a horse) with tack.

1. He ordered us to tack at once.
1. 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.
2. (of a sailing vessel) to change course in this way.
3. to proceed to windward by a series of courses as close to the wind as the vessel will sail.
2. to take or follow a zigzag course or route.
3. to change one's course of action, conduct, ideas, etc.
4. to equip a horse with tack (usually fol. by up): Please tack up quickly.

tack

1. food; fare.

tack

1. a lease, esp. on farmland.
2. a rented pasture.
3. a catch, haul, or take of fish.