slack
adjective
uk/slæk/ usif business or economic activity is slack, there is less activity than usual:
He wanted to sell some of his rental homes, but the region's slack economy stopped him.
May was a very slack month for the entire industry.
slack market/demand/sales
slack time/period Summer is usually a slack time for energy demand.
something that is slack is not strict or effective enough:
Experts say that slacker financial controls may be to blame.
There were claims in the media of slack corporate governance.
someone who is slack is not working hard enough or spending enough time or care on something:
Businesses that shout loudest about delayed payments are often the worst slack payers.
be slack with something She's always been a bit slack with her accounts.
slack
noun [ U ]
uk/slæk/ usresources, such as money, people, or time, that are not being used at a particular time:
At the moment we have very little slack for dealing with emergencies.
slack in something Anne and Bill didn't have enough slack in their household budget.
pick/take up slack
to make a business, industry, or economy operate more effectively by doing the work that someone else has stopped doing but that still needs to be done:
More business investment would pick up the slack in the economy.
The drug maker is having problems with production, but none of its competitors have taken up the slack.
slackness
noun [ U ]
There has been some slackness in the labor market this quarter.