Tack Meaning
/tæk/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA small nail with a flat head.
nounA thumbtack.
Sentence Examples
Why don't you try a different tack?
If a conversation is not going too well, try changing tack.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sailor decided to ____ the boat to catch the wind from the other side.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company decided to change its ____ and focus on a completely different segment of the competitive market today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English tak, takke (“hook; staple; nail”), from Old Northern French taque (“nail, pin, peg”), from Frankish *takkō (“twig, branch, shoot”), of unknown origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dHgʰ-n-, from the root *déHgʰ- (“to pinch; to tear, rip, fray”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Takke (“bough; branch; twig”), West Frisian takke (“branch”), tûk (“branch, smart, sharp”), Dutch tak (“twig; branch; limb”), German Zacke (“jag; prong; spike; tooth; peak”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A tough test for even the strongest climber, it was new to the Tour de France this year, but its debut will be remembered for the wrong reasons after one of those spectators scattered carpet tacks on the road and induced around 30 punctures among the group of riders including Bradley Wiggins, the Tour's overall leader, and his chief rivals."
— 2012 July 15, Richard Williams, “Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot put Bradley Wiggins off track”, in The Guardian:
"So stoutly held to tack by those near North-wales men;"
— 1612, Michael Drayton, chapter 11, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for M[athew] Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, →OCLC:
"Maud Gonne’s letter about taking them off O’Connell street at night: disgrace to our Irish capital. Griffith’s paper is on the same tack now: an army rotten with venereal disease: overseas or halfseasover empire."
— 1922 February, James Joyce, “[V]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
"I thought that my refusing Barnard would alienate Botha, and decided that such a tack was too risky."
— 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 637:
"When even cautious German politicians are questioning Nato’s ‘war-mongering’ actions, it’s clear that a new tack is required"
— 2016 June 19, Mary Dejevsky, “Isolating Russia isn’t working. The west needs a new approach”, in The Guardian:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sailor decided to ____ the boat to catch the wind from the other side.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company decided to change its ____ and focus on a completely different segment of the competitive market today.