# tack

> English word · Noun · IPA /tæk/ · frequency rank #17,973

## Definitions
1. A small nail with a flat head.
2. A thumbtack.
3. A loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth.
4. The lower corner on the leading edge of a sail relative to the direction of the wind.
5. A course or heading that enables a sailing vessel to head upwind.
6. A direction or course of action, especially a new one; a method or approach to solving a problem.
7. The maneuver by which a sailing vessel turns its bow through the wind so that the wind changes from one side to the other.
8. The distance a sailing vessel runs between these maneuvers when working to windward; a board.
9. 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.
10. Any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals.
11. The stickiness of a compound, related to its cohesive and adhesive properties.
12. Food generally; fare, especially of the hard bread or breadlike kind.
13. That which is attached; a supplement; an appendix.
14. Confidence; reliance.

## Etymology
From Middle English tak, takke (“hook; staple; nail”), from Old Northern French taque (“nail, pin, peg”), from Frankish *takkō, from Proto-Germanic *takkô (“tip; point; protrusion; prong; tine; jag; spike; twig”), of unknown origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dHgʰ-n-, from the root *déHgʰ- (“to pinch; to tear, rip, fray”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Takke (“bough; branch; twig”), West Frisian takke (“branch”), tûk (“branch, smart, sharp”), Dutch tak (“twig; branch; limb”), German Zacke (“jag; prong; spike; tooth; peak”).

## Easily confused with
- **TC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tc)
- **TK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tk)
- **tax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tax)
- **tag** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tag)
- **tap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tap)
- **tan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tan)
- **tar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tar)
- **tad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tad)
- **tai** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tai)
- **tao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tao)
- **tat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tat)
- **THC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-thc)
- **taj** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-taj)
- **TLC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tlc)
- **tau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tau)
- **tam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tam)
- **Tal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tal)
- **tak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tak)
- **tic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tic)
- **tay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tack-vs-tay)

## Common misspellings (6)
`atck`, `tacck`, `tackk`, `takc`, `tcak`, `ttack`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tack