pick/take up the slack

idiom

: to provide or do something that is missing or not getting done

The manager has to take up the slack when employees don't do their jobs correctly.

When he didn't get the pay raise he was expecting, he had to take another job to pick up the slack for more money.

Examples of pick/take up the slack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Like others, Murphy also perhaps tried to do too much to pick up the slack for a slumping offense. —

David O'Brien, The Athletic, 10 Dec. 2024 Lakers star LeBron James missed his first game of the season due to injury, so others needed to pick up the slack. —

Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024 Every industry relies on seasoned pros to pick up the slack — like the adage that 20 percent of workers do 80 percent of the work. —

Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 14 Nov. 2024 Trade deadline acquisitions Eloy Jiménez and Austin Slater did little to pick up the slack and rookie Jackson Holliday never showed enough in the regular season to earn a spot in their starting lineup for October. —

Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun, 13 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pick/take up the slack

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pick/take up the slack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pick%2Ftake%20up%20the%20slack. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation