tackles

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of tackle.

   The defender tackles the striker just outside the penalty area.

   Our new manager tackles customer complaints the same day they arrive.

   Note

   The form that follows he, she, it or a singular noun, as in the coach tackles or the report tackles. With I, you, we or they, the bare form tackle returns. An object usually follows, whether a striker, a ball carrier or a problem. In Singapore colloquial English, he tackles her can mean he is romantically pursuing her, so be careful about that reading there.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of tackle.

   The defender's tackles were clean and well-timed throughout the match.

   Sailors inspected the rigging tackles before the storm rolled in.

   Note

   The plural fits most naturally with the countable meanings: a rugby player's or footballer's tackles, or the rope-and-hook rigs of block and tackle. Fishing equipment and gear in general usually work as mass nouns, as in a box of fishing tackle, though anglers do sometimes count their tackles. The slang sense "clothing" stays uncountable. The same spelling is also the verb form, and the sentence shows which is meant.

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