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slacks. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
slacks, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
slacks in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
slacks you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Pronunciation
Noun
slacks
- plural of slack
Noun
slacks pl (plural only, attributive slack)
- (dated) Semi-formal trousers which are less formal than those that are part of a suit but nowadays are considered suitable casualwear in most offices. (Takes a plural verb even when referring to a single pair; may be referred to as a pair of slacks.)
1941, Agatha Christie, N or M?:Discipline, that’s what we need. Discipline. How are we going to win the war without discipline? Do you know, sir, some of these fellows come on parade in slacks - so I’ve been told. Can’t expect to win a war that way. Slacks! My God!
1957, J. D. Salinger, “Zooey”, in Franny and Zooey, published 1961:Not five minutes later, Zooey, with his hair combed wet, stood wet, stood barefoot at the washbowl, wearing a pair of beltless dark-gray sharkskin slacks, a face towel across his bare shoulders.
Usage notes
The term is old-fashioned and now used mostly by older people and as applied primarily to women's trousers within traditional quarters of the U.S. clothing industry. (The term was never common in British English.) Despite being no longer considered leisurewear, they are still defined as casual trousers by all major American and British dictionaries.
Translations
Verb
slacks
- third-person singular simple present indicative of slack