tack

Definitions

• A small nail with a flat head.
• A thumbtack.
• (sewing) A loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth.
• (nautical) The lower corner on the leading edge of a sail relative to the direction of the wind.
• (nautical) A course or heading that enables a sailing vessel to head upwind. See also reach, gybe.
• A direction or course of action, especially a new one.
• (nautical) The maneuver by which a sailing vessel turns its bow through the wind so that the wind changes from one side to the other.
• (nautical) The distance a sailing vessel runs between these maneuvers when working to windward; a board.
• (nautical) A rope used to hold in place the foremost lower corners of the courses when the vessel is close-hauled; also, a rope employed to pull the lower corner of a studding sail to the boom.
• Any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. Saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, harnesses, martingales, and breastplates are all forms of horse tack.
• (manufacturing) The stickiness of a compound, related to its cohesive and adhesive properties.
• Food generally; fare, especially of the bread kind.
• That which is attached; a supplement; an appendix.
• (legal) A contract by which the use of a thing is set, or let, for hire; a lease.
• (obsolete) Confidence; reliance.