- tack
- 1
noun
1 NAIL (C) a small nail with a sharp point and flat top2 PIN (C) AmE a short pin with a large round flat top, for fixing notices to boards, walls etc; drawing pin BrE, thumbtack AmE3 change tack/try a different tack etc to do something completely different from what you were doing before, especially in order to achieve something: Rudy changed tack, his tone suddenly becoming friendly.4 SHIP (C, U) the direction of a sailing ship, based on the direction of the wind and the position of its sails: Ships on the starboard tack have right of way.5 SEWING (C) a long loose stitch used for fastening pieces of cloth together before sewing them properly6 UGLY OBJECTS (U) small objects that are very ugly and cheap, but are sold as decorations: souvenir shops full of tack7 HORSES (U) all the equipment you need for horse riding2 verb1 (transitive always + adv/prep) to fasten something with a tack(+ up): tacking notices up on the board2 (T) to fasten pieces of cloth together with long loose stitches, before sewing them properly3 (I) to change the course of a sailing ship so that the wind blows against its sails from the opposite directiontack sth on phrasal verb (T) informal to add something to something that already exists or is complete, especially in a way that looks badly planned: The environmental section of the bill was obviously tacked on afterwards. | a little porch tacked on to the front of the house
Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.