Definition of "tack"

A tough test for even the strongest climber, it was new to the Tour de France this year, but its debut will be remembered for the wrong reasons after one of those spectators scattered carpet tacks on the road and induced around 30 punctures among the group of riders including Bradley Wiggins, the Tour's overall leader, and his chief rivals.

2012 July 15, Richard Williams, “Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot put Bradley Wiggins off track”, in The Guardian‎

So stoutly held to tack by those near North-wales men;

1612, Michael Drayton, chapter 11, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] H[umphrey] L[ownes] for Mathew Lownes; I. Browne; I. Helme; I. Busbie, published 1613

Maud Gonne’s letter about taking them off O’Connell street at night: disgrace to our Irish capital. Griffith’s paper is on the same tack now: an army rotten with venereal disease: overseas or halfseasover empire.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[V]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […]

I thought that my refusing Barnard would alienate Botha, and decided that such a tack was too risky.

1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus, published 2010, page 637

When even cautious German politicians are questioning Nato’s ‘war-mongering’ actions, it’s clear that a new tack is required

2016 June 19, Mary Dejevsky, “Isolating Russia isn’t working. The west needs a new approach”, in The Guardian‎

Letterpress and offset gloss varnishes normally have viscosities varying from 50 to 250 poises; they must stain the paper as little as possible, have insufficient tack to cause plucking, […]

1959, E. A. Apps, Printing Ink Technology, page 415

But if a woman's got nothing but her fair fame to feed on, why, it's thin tack, and a donkey would die of it!

1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […]

Some tacks had been made to money bills in King Charles's time.

1724, [Gilbert] Burnet, edited by [Gilbert Burnet Jr.], Bishop Burnet’s History of His Own Time. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] Thomas Ward […]

pay all taxes and subscribe tacks

1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans

He should find […] that there was tack in it, that it was solid silver, or silver that had strength in it.

1651-1666, Joseph Caryl, Exposition of Job with Practical Observations

In short, they tend to present Indian English as nothing more than "standard" English with a select collection of lexical peculiarities tacked on, as it were, many of which would be regarded as "errors" by prescriptivist language scholars.

2012, James Lambert, “Beyond Hobson-Jobson: A new lexicography for Indian English”, in World Englishes‎, page 312

For souvenirs – mostly outright tack and ethnicky textiles – try your bargaining skills at the shops and stalls on Binjiang Luand Zhengyang Jie, or the nightly street market spreading for about a block either side of Shanhu Bridge along Zhongshan Lu.

2014, David Leffman, The Rough Guide to China

In the Breadalbane papers, for example, there is a "tack" which was given by Sir John Campbell of Glenurchy to his "weil belouit" servant John M'Conoquhy V'Gregour, in the year 1530.

1885, Lord Colin Campbell, The Crofter in History