tacked

Tacked is the past tense and past participle of the verb tack. The word has several distinct uses in English, spanning hardware, sewing, and sailing.

In the fastening sense, to tack something means to attach it temporarily or loosely with tacks, which are small nails or pins. This usage is common in upholstery, carpentry, wallpapering, and other crafts, where items may be tacked in place before final fixing or finishing. A strip of fabric or a poster can be described as tacked to a wall when secured with tacks.

In sewing, to tack means to make a temporary or provisional stitch that holds fabric in place before permanent stitching is applied. Tacked stitches are often removed or finished later in the sewing process, and the noun form tack can refer to these temporary stitches.

In nautical usage, to tack refers to a maneuver by which a sailing vessel changes course by turning the bow through the wind. When a ship tacks, it shifts from one tack to the next, alternating between directions relative to the wind. The terms port tack and starboard tack describe the orientation of the wind during the maneuver. Tacking enables upwind progress by zigzagging the course.

Etymology for the different senses generally traces back to separate roots: the fastening sense comes from tack, meaning a small nail or pin, while the nautical sense derives from the verb tack used in sailing communities. Despite their shared spelling, the hardware and sailing senses describe distinct actions that happen in different contexts.

See also: tack, tack (disambiguation).