Hack definition
(slang) To cope with successfully; manage.
Couldn't hack a second job.
verb
(informal) To alter (a computer program).
Hacked her text editor to read HTML.
verb
Hackneyed; banal.
adjective
To cut or chop with repeated and irregular blows.
Hacked down the saplings.
verb
(pejorative) One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.)
noun
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To shape, trim, damage, etc. with or as with rough, sweeping strokes.
verb
The definition of hack is to have a dry harsh cough.
An example of hack is the type of cough which is often experienced by a person who smokes.
verb
To hack is defined as to chop, cut or damage in a rough or irregular way.
An example of to hack is using a splitting maul to chop wood.
verb
To break up the surface of (soil).
verb
(slang) To cut or mutilate as if by hacking.
Hacked millions off the budget.
verb
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To gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization.
Hacked the firm's personnel database.
verb
To chop or cut something by hacking.
verb
To cough roughly or harshly.
verb
To write or refine computer programs skillfully.
verb
To use one's skill in computer programming to gain illegal or unauthorized access to a file or network.
Hacked into the company's intranet.
verb
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A rough, irregular cut made by hacking.
noun
A tool, such as a hoe, used for hacking.
noun
A blow made by hacking.
noun
A rough, dry cough.
noun
A horse used for riding or driving; a hackney.
noun
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A worn-out horse for hire; a jade.
noun
A carriage or hackney for hire.
noun
One who undertakes unpleasant or distasteful tasks for money or reward; a hireling.
noun
A writer hired to produce routine or commercial writing.
noun
A taxicab.
noun
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To let out (a horse) for hire.
verb
To make banal or hackneyed with indiscriminate use.
verb
To drive a taxicab for a living.
verb
To work for hire as a writer.
verb
To ride on horseback at an ordinary pace.
verb
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By, characteristic of, or designating routine or commercial writing.
Hack prose.
adjective
To break up (land) as with a hoe or mattock.
verb
(slang) To deal with or carry out successfully.
verb
(slang) To annoy or irritate.
verb
(slang, sports) To foul (an opponent) roughly.
verb
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To chop or cut crudely, roughly, or irregularly, as with a hatchet.
verb
To make rough or irregular cuts.
verb
To give harsh, dry coughs.
verb
A tool for cutting or hacking, as an ax, hoe, mattock, etc.
noun
A slash, gash, or notch made by a sharp implement.
noun
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A hacking blow.
noun
A harsh, dry cough.
noun
A person hired to do routine, often dull, writing.
noun
A worker for a political party, usually holding office through patronage and serving devotedly and unquestioningly.
noun
A carriage or coach for hire.
noun
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A horse for hire.
noun
A horse for all sorts of work.
noun
A saddle horse.
noun
An old, worn-out horse.
noun
A taxicab.
noun
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A hackman or cabdriver.
noun
To employ as a hack.
verb
To hire out (a horse, etc.)
verb
To wear out or make stale by constant use.
verb
(comput.) To gain unauthorized access to (a file, network, etc.)
To hack a company's personnel records.
verb
(brit.) To jog along on a horse.
verb
(informal) To drive a taxicab.
verb
To be a hacker; specif., to gain unauthorized access (into a particular file, network, etc.)
To hack into a company's personnel files.
verb
Employed as a hack.
A hack writer.
adjective
Done by a hack.
A hack job.
adjective
Stale; trite; hackneyed.
Hack writing.
adjective
A grating or rack for drying cheese or fish, holding food for cattle, etc.
noun
To place on a hack for drying.
verb
As a noun, a hack is the source code of a program. For example, the phrase "it must be done through a hack" means someone has to write programming code to solve the problem because there is no pre-written software that does the job.As a verb, hack refers to writing a small program or adding code to an existing program to solve a problem in a hurry. A hack used to imply a low-level programming language, even deploying a fix in machine language (see patch). However, the term evolved, and today it can refer to code in any computer language. See machine language.You're Not Supposed To!A hack may refer to an enhancement made to an electronic device that was not designed to be user programmable, such as a video game, music player, TV set-top box or cellphone. For example, a digital media hub (media extender) could be modified to play additional formats.Hardware modifications are done by the experienced hacker, which may require opening the case and using tools such as a screwdriver, wire strippers and soldering iron. For example, to make the first AT&T iPhones work in another network, an early hack required applying voltage to a line on its circuit board. It meant scraping the surface of a single wire trace without breaking the line and soldering a wire to it; a very delicate operation. Subsequent methods using a software hack to unlock iPhones were less extreme."Hacked" Means a Harmful Hack"Getting hacked" has another connotation. Although the original meaning of hack is program code that was modified, the popular definition is an illegal modification that causes a computer or online account to be compromised.A lesser known meaning of the term is that a hack is a harmless practical joke, but one that takes a bit of technical prowess or careful planning. See attack, hacker and hackathon.
To chop or cut down in a rough manner. [circa 12th c.]
They hacked the brush down and made their way through the jungle.
verb
(intransitive) To cough noisily. [19th c.]
This cold is awful. I can't stop hacking.
verb
To withstand or put up with a difficult situation. [ 20th c.]
Can you hack it out here with no electricity or running water?
verb
(slang, computing) To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code; to crack.
verb
(slang, computing) By extension, to gain unauthorised access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation).
When I logged into the social network, I discovered I'd been hacked.
verb
(computing) To accomplish a difficult programming task.
He can hack like no one else and make the program work as expected.
verb
(computing) To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that is inelegant or that makes the program harder to maintain.
I hacked in a fix for this bug, but we'll still have to do a real fix later.
verb
To work on an intimately technical level.
I'm currently hacking distributed garbage collection.
verb
(ice hockey) To strike an opponent's leg with one's hockey stick.
He's going to the penalty box after hacking the defender in front of the goal.
verb
(ice hockey) To make a flailing attempt to hit the puck with a hockey stick.
There's a scramble in front of the net as the forwards are hacking at the bouncing puck.
verb
A tool for chopping. [14th c.]
noun
A dry cough.
noun
(figuratively) A try, an attempt. [19th c.]
noun
(curling) The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.
noun
(computing, slang) An illegal attempt to gain access to a computer network.
noun
(computing) An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming.
noun
(computing) An expedient, temporary solution, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date.
noun
(slang, military) Time check.
noun
A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.
noun
(falconry) A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.
noun
To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.
verb
(falconry) To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained.
verb
A person, often a journalist, hired to do routine work. (newspaper hack) [from the 17th c.]
- I got by on hack work for years before I finally published my novel.
noun
(slang) A taxicab (hackney cab) driver.
noun
A coach or carriage let for hire; particularly, a coach with two seats inside facing each other; a hackney coach.
noun
(pejorative) An untalented writer.
- Dason is nothing but a two-bit hack.
- He's nothing but the typical hack writer.
noun
(pejorative) A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language.
noun
(politics) A political agitator. (slightly derogatory)
noun
To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.).
verb
To use as a hack; to let out for hire.
verb
To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.
verb
A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for the use in hackeysack.
noun
To play hackeysack.
verb
hack around
- to engage in aimless activity; spend time idly
idiom
hack it
- to carry out or manage something successfully
idiom
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
hack around
Origin of hack
- Middle English hakken from Old English -haccian keg- in Indo-European roots V., intr., sense 2, back-formation from hacker
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Short for hackney
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From Wiktionary
- From Old English tohaccian (“hack to pieces”)
From Wiktionary
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From Wiktionary
- From hackysack
From Wiktionary