slack

[SLACK]

英 [slæk] 美 [slæk]

adj.松弛的；懈怠的；萧条的 n.松弛的部分；松散；淡季 vt.使缓慢；疏忽 vi.变松弛；逃避工作

◉Etymology

“Slack”源自古英语 slæc，意为“松弛的、懒惰的”，来自原始日耳曼语 slakaz（松懈的）。可能与印欧语根 sleg-（松弛）相关。中古英语中扩展为形容词、名词和动词，涵盖“松弛”“不足”或“怠惰”等含义，现代英语中还指绳索松弛或工作懈怠。

◉外刊例句

① 《经济学人》（The Economist），2024年10月26日

The company faced criticism for slack oversight of its supply chain.

公司因对其供应链监管不力而受到批评。

② 《纽约时报》（The New York Times），2023年11月10日

The rope was left slack, causing the tent to collapse.

绳子松弛，导致帐篷倒塌。

③ 《卫报》（The Guardian），2025年1月15日

With demand slack, retailers struggled during the holiday season.

需求疲软，零售商在节日季陷入困境。

◉经典名著

① 《白鲸》（Moby-Dick），赫尔曼·梅尔维尔（Herman Melville），1851年

The slack rope endangered the crew.

松弛的绳索危及船员。

② 《汤姆·索亚历险记》（The Adventures of Tom Sawyer），马克·吐温（Mark Twain），1876年

Tom slacked off, avoiding his chores.

汤姆偷懒，逃避家务。

◉Usage Examples

(1) A rope is slack if it hasn't been pulled tight.

(2) She was shocked at the slack discipline in the school.

(3) He is slack in answering letters.

(4) After intense work in the summer, we are slack off now.

(5) Business is slack at this season.

(6) February is a slack time for hotels by the sea.

(7) There is too much slack in the rope.

(8) The sailor pull at the rope to take up the slack.

(9) Our boss doesn't give us any slack.

(10) There's a certain amount of slack in the car industry at the moment.

(11) The driver slacked up before reaching the crossroads.

(12) Freight-car loadings continue to slack off.

(13) Don't slack off in your studies.

(14) You should slack the rope before trying to untie the knot.

(1) 如果一根绳子没有拉紧,那它是松的。

(2) 对于学校松弛的纪律她感到震惊。

(3) 他疏于回信。

(4) 夏季紧张的工作过後，我们现在放松了。

(5) 在这个季节生意清淡萧条。

(6) 二月份是海滨旅馆的淡季。

(7) 这条绳子太松了。

(8) 水手们拉起绳索把它收紧。

(9) 老板从来不让我们有一丝的松懈。

(10) 眼下汽车工业不太景气。

(11) 司机在驶近十字路口时减慢了速度。

(12) 火车货运的运输量继续减少。

(13) 不要荒费你的学业。

(14) 解结之前你应该先将绳索放松。

◉Usage Notes

If you slow down at the end of a race, you slack off. When you use slack this way, it means to reduce your speed, to be sluggish, or to be negligent.

If something is loose, it's also said to be slack. A clothesline, for example, is slack if it is just hanging loosely between two trees. If you pull the clothesline tight, you reduce the slack. The root word of slack is the Old English word slæc, which means loose or careless. When you scold your friend for being careless about his responsibilities, you can say, "Pick up the slack!"

◉Colins

1. [ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词]松弛的；没拉紧的 Something that is slack is loose and not firmly stretched or tightly in position.

The boy's jaw went slack.

男孩张大了嘴巴。

2. [ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词]萧条的；清淡的；不景气的 A slack period is one in which there is not much work or activity.

The workload can be evened out, instead of the shop having busy times and slack periods.

商其工作量可以平均开来，不像商店那样有时很忙，有时很闲。

3. [ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词]松懈的；懈怠的 Someone who is slack in their work does not do it properly. [disapproval]

Many publishers have simply become far too slack.

许多出版商就是变得过于懈怠了。

slackness

He accused the government of slackness and complacency.

他谴责政府的懈怠和自满。

4. [VERB 动词]疏忽；懈怠；松劲 If someone is slacking, they are not working as hard as they should. [V] [V P] [only cont] [disapproval]

He had never let a foreman see him slacking.

他从未在哪个工头面前表现出丝毫懈怠。

Slack off means the same as slack .slack off 同 slack

If someone slacks off, Bill comes down hard.

如果有人怠工，比尔就会严厉地加以斥责。

5. [PHRASE 短语]接手他人不再做的工作；补位提供 To take up the slack or pick up the slack means to do or provide something that another person or organization is no longer doing or providing. [V inflects]

As major airlines give up less-traveled routes, smaller planes are picking up the slack.

由于大型航空公司放弃了乘客较少的路线，一些较小的飞机正在加紧补位。