slack // adjective, noun, verb

■ adjective (slacker, slackest)

1

(about a business) not having many customers; not busy:

a slack period

April is always slack.

slack demand for cars

2

(about a person) not putting enough care, attention or energy into sth and so not doing it well enough:

He's been very slack in his work lately.

slackly adverb

slackness noun [U]

■ noun [U]

people, money, time or space that a company is not using fully:

There's very little slack in the budget.

IDIOMS

pick/take up the slack

to do sth, supply sth, etc. that is needed but is not being done or supplied:

Her colleagues have to take up the slack when she is away from work.

As desktop PC sales have fallen, laptops have taken up the slack.

Since the government withdrew funds, private investment has taken up the slack.

■ verb [no obj]

to work less hard than you usually do or should do:

I usually work a nine-hour day but I've been slacking this week.

PHRASAL VERBS

slack off (on sth)

to do sth more slowly or with less energy than before:

We have been slacking off on our customer service.

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