Tact vs. Tack
Tactnoun
The sense of touch; feeling.
Tacknoun
A small nail with a flat head.
Tactnoun
(music) The stroke in beating time.
Tacknoun
A thumbtack.
Tactnoun
Sensitive mental touch; special skill or faculty; keen perception or discernment; ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances.
Tacknoun
(sewing) A loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth.
Tactnoun
The ability to deal with embarrassing situations carefully and without doing or saying anything that will annoy or upset other people; careful consideration in dealing with others to avoid giving offense; the ability to say the right thing.
‘By the use of tact, she was able to calm her jealous husband.’; ‘I used tact when I told my fat uncle that his extra weight made him look better.’;
Tacknoun
(nautical) The lower corner on the leading edge of a sail relative to the direction of the wind.
Tactnoun
(psychology) A verbal operant which is controlled by a nonverbal stimulus (such as an object, event, or property of an object) and is maintained by nonspecific social reinforcement (praise).
Tacknoun
(nautical) A course or heading that enables a sailing vessel to head upwind. See also reach, gybe.
Tactverb
(psychology) To use a tact (a kind of verbal operant; see noun sense).
Tacknoun
A direction or course of action, especially a new one.
Tactnoun
The sense of touch; feeling.
‘Did you suppose that I could not make myself sensible to tact as well as sight?’; ‘Now, sight is a very refined tact.’;
Tacknoun
(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.
Tactnoun
The stroke in beating time.
Tacknoun
(nautical) The distance a sailing vessel runs between these maneuvers when working to windward; a board.
Tactnoun
Sensitive mental touch; peculiar skill or faculty; nice perception or discernment; ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances.
‘He had formed plans not inferior in grandeur and boldness to those of Richelieu, and had carried them into effect with a tact and wariness worthy of Mazarin.’; ‘A tact which surpassed the tact of her sex as much as the tact of her sex surpassed the tact of ours.’;
Tacknoun
(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.
Tactnoun
consideration in dealing with others and avoiding giving offence
Tacknoun
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.
Tacknoun
The stickiness of a compound, related to its cohesive and adhesive properties.
‘The laminate adhesive has very aggressive tack and is hard to move once in place.’;
Tacknoun
Hardtack.
Tacknoun
That which is attached; a supplement; an appendix.
Tacknoun
A contract by which the use of a thing is set, or let, for hire; a lease.
Tacknoun
(obsolete) Confidence; reliance.
Tacknoun
A stain; a tache.
Tacknoun
(obsolete) A peculiar flavour or taint.
Tackverb
To nail with a tack (small nail with a flat head).
Tackverb
To sew/stich with a tack (loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth).
Tackverb
(nautical) To maneuver a sailing vessel so that its bow turns through the wind, i.e. the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other.
Tackverb
To add something as an extra item.
‘to tack (something) onto (something)’;
Tackverb
Often paired with "up", to place the tack on a horse.
Tacknoun
A stain; a tache.
Tacknoun
A peculiar flavor or taint; as, a musty tack.
Tacknoun
A small, short, sharp-pointed nail, usually having a broad, flat head.
Tacknoun
That which is attached; a supplement; an appendix. See Tack, v. t., 3.
‘Some tacks had been made to money bills in King Charles's time.’;
Tacknoun
A rope used to hold in place the foremost lower corners of the courses when the vessel is closehauled (see Illust. of Ship); also, a rope employed to pull the lower corner of a studding sail to the boom.
Tacknoun
A contract by which the use of a thing is set, or let, for hire; a lease.
Tacknoun
Confidence; reliance.
Tackverb
To fasten or attach.
‘And tacks the center to the sphere.’;
Tackverb
Especially, to attach or secure in a slight or hasty manner, as by stitching or nailing; as, to tack together the sheets of a book; to tack one piece of cloth to another; to tack on a board or shingle; to tack one piece of metal to another by drops of solder.
Tackverb
In parliamentary usage, to add (a supplement) to a bill; to append; - often with on or to; as, to tack on a non-germane appropriation to a bill.
Tackverb
To change the direction of (a vessel) when sailing closehauled, by putting the helm alee and shifting the tacks and sails so that she will proceed to windward nearly at right angles to her former course.
Tackverb
To change the direction of a vessel by shifting the position of the helm and sails; also (as said of a vessel), to have her direction changed through the shifting of the helm and sails. See Tack, v. t., 4.
‘Monk, . . . when he wanted his ship to tack to larboard, moved the mirth of his crew by calling out, "Wheel to the left."’;
Tacknoun
the heading or position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails
Tacknoun
a short nail with a sharp point and a large head
Tacknoun
gear for a horse
Tacknoun
(nautical) a line (rope or chain) that regulates the angle at which a sail is set in relation to the wind
Tacknoun
(nautical) the act of changing tack
Tacknoun
sailing a zigzag course
Tackverb
fasten with tacks;
‘tack the notice on the board’;
Tackverb
turn into the wind;
‘The sailors decided to tack the boat’; ‘The boat tacked’;
Tackverb
make by putting pieces together;
‘She pieced a quilt’; ‘He tacked together some verses’;
Tackverb
sew together loosely, with large stitches;
‘baste a hem’;
Tackverb
fix to; attach;
‘append a charm to the necklace’;
Tackverb
reverse (a direction, attitude, or course of action)
