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hardtack

American  
[hahrd-tak] / ˈhɑrdˌtæk /

noun

  1. a hard, hard, saltless biscuit, formerly much used aboard ships and for army rations.

hardtack British  
/ ˈhɑːdˌtæk /

noun

  1. Also called: pilot biscuit.   ship's biscuit.   sea biscuit.  a kind of hard saltless biscuit, formerly eaten esp by sailors as a staple aboard ship

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hardtack

First recorded in 1830–40; hard + tack 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We lunched on the small amount of smoked fish and seaman’s hardtack we had bought at a souvenir shop and drank water.

From Washington Post • Jan. 20, 2022

Wartime museums display the bland hardtack that sustained Civil War fighters, and the canned meats, breads and fruit of World War II, known as C rations.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2021

He made a tidy sum selling the government hard, dry bread and biscuits - known as hardtack - for Union soldier rations.

From Washington Times • Aug. 30, 2020

In the first they sample decades old corn chips, century-old Civil War hardtack and then freshen up with 100-year-old tooth powder.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2020

Finally he and a sailor swam to another island and discovered a hidden camp where some native islanders had kept fresh water and hardtack and crackers.

From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.