tackle
pronunciation
How to pronounce tackle in British English:
UK [ˈtækl]
How to pronounce tackle in American English:
US [ˈtækl]
-
- Noun:
- the person who plays that position on a football team
- gear consisting of ropes etc. supporting a ship's masts and sails
- gear used in fishing
- a position on the line of scrimmage
- (American football) grasping an opposing player with the intention of stopping by throwing to the ground
-
- Verb:
- accept as a challenge
- put a harness
- seize and throw down an opponent player, who usually carries the ball
Word Origin
- tackle (n.)
- mid-13c., "apparatus, gear," especially the rigging of a ship, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German takel "the rigging of a ship," perhaps related to Middle Dutch taken "grasp, seize" (see take (v.)), or perhaps from root of tack (n.1), which, if not the origin, has influenced the sense. Meaning "apparatus for fishing" is recorded from late 14c. Meaning "device for grasping and shifting or moving" is from 1530s. Meaning "act of tackling" in the sporting sense is recorded from 1876 (see tackle (v.)); as the name of a position in North American football, it is recorded from 1884. Welsh tacl is fro English.
- tackle (v.)
- mid-14c., "entangle, involve," from tackle (n.). Sense of "to furnish (a ship) with tackles" is from c. 1400; meaning "to harness a horse" is recorded from 1714. The meaning "lay hold of, come to grips with, attack" is attested from 1828, described by Webster that year as "a common popular use of the word in New England, though not elegant;" figurative sense of "try to deal with" (a task or problem) is from 1840. The verb in the sporting sense first recorded 1867, "to seize and stop." Related: Tackled; tackling.
Example
- 1. What methods do you use to tackle them ?
- 2. Yet few tools exist to tackle de facto educational resegregation .
- 3. Sometimes a tackle says much about a match and even the entire season .
- 4. The government has also sought to tackle entrenched monopolies such as the trucking industry .
- 5. How many times each day do you try to work yourself up to tackle some undesirable task ?