How to Use pick/take up the slack in a Sentence

pick/take up the slack

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  • Will the Reds have someone(s) to pick up the slack when the Bat Men cool?
    — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 7 June 2021
  • The five other seniors did their best to pick up the slack.
    — Ryan Black, The Courier-Journal, 2 Mar. 2023
  • That, Rust said, is when Crosby will pick up the slack and heat up.
    — Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 20 Dec. 2024
  • Chances are good that at least one person will be ready to pick up the slack.
    — Tarot Astrologers, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2023
  • This year, indie efforts have helped to pick up the slack.
    — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024
  • And no one else on the roster has yet appeared close to being able to pick up the slack.
    — Dylan Bumbarger, oregonlive, 4 Apr. 2023
  • If their fly ball volume wanes, there are other parts of their games that can pick up the slack.
    — Tony Blengino, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
  • The front office didn’t end up adding a pass-rushing prospect in the draft, so the trio of free agents will truly need to pick up the slack.
    — Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 19 June 2024
  • Cleveland’s bigs -- Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley -- tried to pick up the slack.
    — Chris Fedor, cleveland, 14 Jan. 2023
  • Refrain from relying on others to pick up the slack or do the work for you.
    — Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
  • Often, even having an equal partner in the picture isn’t enough to pick up the slack.
    — ​wendy Wisner, Parents, 23 Oct. 2024
  • With the city taking a back seat, it has been left to nonprofits like Flatbush Cats to take up the slack.
    — Richard Schiffman Erin Schaff, New York Times, 8 June 2023
  • If Nvidia falters, other stocks are likely, at some point, to pick up the slack.
    — Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024
  • To pick up the slack, the firm intends to add researchers and engineers in India.
    — Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
  • But in most cases, other area theaters could take up the slack.
    — Tom Brueggemann, IndieWire, 15 Aug. 2024
  • For example, if one parent dies, the other might need their child to pick up the slack.
    — Nicole Harris, Parents, 24 July 2023
  • If somebody lost their job, who’s going to pick up the slack so that their share of the payment is covered?
    — Lauren Phillips, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 July 2024
  • Maybe their running game will take up the slack if their passing game isn’t clicking.
    — Elliott Teaford, Orange County Register, 30 Oct. 2024
  • Lots of other workplaces would leave it vacant and have others pick up the slack.
    — Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025
  • The remaining core of last year's championship team will have to pick up the slack in the interim.
    — Michael Shapiro, Chron, 22 Mar. 2023
  • Among the forward group, Granlund was the Sharks’ leading penalty killer, and Celebrini will be one of those asked to help pick up the slack.
    — Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 3 Feb. 2025
  • If not, your muscles will pick up the slack in an attempt to keep you upright, which can cause fatigue.
    — Sanah Faroke, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
  • Maybe Samsung's competitors could just pick up the slack.
    — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 7 June 2024
  • Other airlines, meanwhile, are doing their best to pick up the slack.
    — Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 29 Dec. 2022
  • Anthony Edwards again struggled from the field and, this time, there was no one else stepping up to pick up the slack.
    — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2024
  • So if the Trump administration cut off the funding for heat pumps that the IRA provides, states could pick up the slack.
    — Matt Simon / Grist, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024
  • With summer here the last thing on anyone’s mind is household chores — so invest in a smart cleaning tool that can pick up the slack.
    — Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 23 June 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
  • When these pathways fail, there aren’t enough to take up the slack, and then those pathways fail as well, resulting in a complete ecological collapse.
    — Ollie Barder, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
  • At an ambitious 95 minutes, Ghost Boy tends to lag in places, but both director and narrator are aware of their story’s potential to get stuck in a groove, and both are there to pick up the slack whenever it’s needed.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 8 Mar. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pick/take up the slack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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