verb

hack

hak

verb

To cut or chop something roughly, without precision.

"He hacked through the overgrown branches with a machete."

To break into a computer system or account without authorization.

"The group claimed they had hacked into the company's servers overnight."

To find a clever, often improvised shortcut for solving a problem.

"She hacked together a workaround using duct tape and an old charger."

noun

A clever shortcut, trick, or workaround.

"Here's a quick hack for folding a fitted sheet."

A skilled but unglamorous or uncreative worker, especially a writer or programmer producing mediocre work for hire.

"Critics dismissed him as a hack churning out formulaic scripts."

How to Use Hack

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo chop roughly, break into a system, or find a clever workaround — depending on context.

Common mistake

"Hack" the tool/trick sense (a life hack) and "hack" the crime sense (hacking a system) are very different meanings — check context before assuming the negative one.

Common pairings

hack into life hack hack together hack away at

Word Forms

hacked past tense, hacked past tense, hacked past tense, hacked past tense, hacked past tense, hacks plural, hacks plural, hacks plural, hacks plural, hacks plural, Hacks plural, hacks singular, hacks singular, hacks singular, hacks singular, hacks singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

He _____ through the overgrown branches with a machete.

Etymology

From Old English haccian ("to hack, chop"), related to German hacken and Dutch hakken; the computing sense dates to the 1950s-60s, first meaning clever problem-solving before picking up its darker "break into a system" meaning by the 1960s.

Synonyms

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nag

Related Words

shrew complain nag horse

Rhymes for hack

ACK jack back tack wack pack sack rack lack Mack Zack aback

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