TACKLE


Meaning of TACKLE in English

I. tack ‧ le 1 S3 W3 /ˈtæk ə l/ BrE AmE verb

1 . [transitive] to try to deal with a difficult problem:

There is more than one way to tackle the problem.

It took twelve fire engines to tackle the blaze.

2 . [intransitive and transitive]

a) to try to take the ball away from an opponent in a game such as football or ↑ hockey

b) to force someone to the ground so that they stop running, in a game such as American football or ↑ rugby

3 . [transitive] British English to talk to someone in order to deal with a difficult problem

tackle somebody about something

When I tackled Susan about it, she admitted she’d made a mistake.

4 . [transitive] to start fighting someone, especially a criminal:

I certainly couldn’t tackle both of them on my own.

—tackler noun [countable]

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COLLOCATIONS

■ nouns

▪ tackle a problem/issue/question

The government has failed to tackle the problem of youth crime.

▪ tackle a job/challenge

She said she couldn’t face tackling the job on her own.

▪ tackle a blaze/fire (=try to stop it)

Fire crews tackling the blaze were hampered by exploding gas canisters.

▪ tackle crime

The police set up a special task force to tackle street crime in the capital.

▪ tackle poverty

He believes education is the long-term key to tackling poverty.

▪ tackle unemployment

The government announced a new initiative to tackle unemployment.

■ adverbs

▪ tackle something head-on (=in a direct and determined way)

The issue of cost must be tackled head-on.

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THESAURUS

▪ deal with something to take the necessary action, especially in order to solve a problem:

We need to deal with problems like pollution and climate change.

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I spend most of my day dealing with customer enquiries.

▪ handle to deal with a problem or difficult situation by making particular decisions. Used especially when talking about how well or badly someone does this:

He handled the situation very well.

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Most customers were happy with the way their complaints had been handled.

▪ tackle to start to deal with a problem, especially one that is complicated:

We need to tackle the issue of drugs in schools.

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The government is introducing new measures to tackle online crime.

▪ see to/attend to somebody/something to deal with all the practical details of something that needs to be done or organized. Attend to is more formal than see to :

My son saw to all the funeral arrangements.

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I have some business to attend to.

▪ take care of something to do the work or make the arrangements that are necessary for something to happen. Used especially when you do this for someone else so that they do not have to worry about it:

My secretary takes care of all the paperwork.

▪ process if a company or organization processes a letter, form etc, they do the things that are usually done as part of their official system, in order to deal with it:

It will take a minimum of 14 days to process your passport application.

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I called their office, and they said that my request was still being processed.

II. tackle 2 BrE AmE noun

[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: Probably from Middle Low German takel 'ship's equipment' , from taken 'to seize' ]

1 . [countable]

a) an attempt to take the ball from an opponent in a game such as football

b) an attempt to stop an opponent by forcing them to the ground, especially in American football or ↑ rugby

2 . [countable] a player in American football who stops other players by tackling them or preventing them from moving forward

3 . [uncountable] the equipment used in some sports and activities, especially fishing

4 . [uncountable and countable] ropes and ↑ pulley s (=wheels) used for lifting heavy things

5 . [uncountable] British English informal a man’s sexual organs

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.