hack

verb

/hæk/

Etymology

* As a German and Dutch surname, from the old Germanic name Hacco, shortened from names derived from *hakkju (“enclosure, hedge”). * Also as a German and Dutch surname, occupational surname for a butcher or woodcutter, see Hacker. * As a north/Low German surname, variant of Haack. * Also as a north/Low German surname, variant of Heck. * Also as a north/Low German surname for someone who lived by a marsh, from hach, hack (“boggy water”). * As an English surname, from the Middle English personal name Acke with a prosthetic H-, itself of North Germanic origin and a pet form of Old Norse Áskell, see Haskell. * Also as an English surname, from Middle Dutch Hakke, denasalized from Hanke, a West Flemish and Picard form of John. * Also as an English surname, from the Middle English adjective hak (“ruthless, unsparing”). * As a Jewish surname, from Yiddish האַק (hak, “axe”).

derived from האַק — “axe”
derived from Hakke
derived from Áskell

Definitions

1
To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
- They hacked the brush down and made their way through the jungle.
- The ruthless practices of the Ontario Film Censor Board are by now the laughing stock of most of the world. Scenes that contain more flesh or affection than they find savoury are simply hacked out of the film before it is released.
2
To withstand or put up with a difficult situation.
- Can you hack it out here with no electricity or running water?
- New Yorkers have been fleeing for months. But the fear some residents have of the violent reactions to the protests here is adding a new challenge to those asking themselves whether they can hack the city. Many are deciding not to return.
3
To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that, while being…
To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that, while being effective, is inelegant or 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.
›+ 65 more definitionsshow fewer
1. 4
  To accomplish a difficult programming task.
  - He can hack like no one else and make the program work as expected.
2. 5
  To work with something on an intimately technical level.
  - I'm currently hacking distributed garbage collection.
3. 6
  To apply a trick, shortcut, skill, or novel method to something to increase productivity,…
  To apply a trick, shortcut, skill, or novel method to something to increase productivity, efficiency or ease.
  - I read up on dating tips so I can hack my sex life.
4. To hack into
  To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code.
5. 8
  To gain unauthorized access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or…
  To gain unauthorized access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation).
  - When I logged in to the social network, I discovered I'd been hacked.
6. 9
  To cheat by using unauthorized modifications.
  - That player must be hacking, they got so many kills last game.
7. 10
  To strike an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and…
  To strike an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and more seriously on the back, arm, head, etc.
  - He's going to the penalty box after hacking the defender in front of the goal.
  - Jensen gets a 5 minute major penalty for hacking Orsov in the back.
8. 11
  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.
9. 12
  To swing at a pitched ball.
  - He went to the batter's box hacking.
10. 13
  To kick (a player) on the shins.
  - Barcelona had been harried and hurried and stretched thin by the midway point in the second half. Tackles flew in. Toes were crushed, shins barked, ankles hacked.
11. 14
  To strike in a frantic movement.
  - Centre-back Branislav Ivanovic then took a wild slash at the ball but his captain John Terry saved Chelsea's skin by hacking the ball clear for a corner with Kevin Davies set to strike from just six yards out.
12. 15
  To strike lightly as part of tapotement massage.
  - […] laterally from and then towards the spine, and continued downwards from the shoulders until the whole back has been hacked.
13. A tool for chopping.
14. A hacking blow.
15. 18
  A gouge or notch made by such a blow.
  - Look you what hacks are on his helmet !
16. A try, an attempt.
17. The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock…
  The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.
18. A mattock or a miner's pickaxe.
19. 22
  An improvised device or solution to a problem.
  - Luckily for us J company picked us up in their hack — two snowmobiles with a big inflatable raft strapped between them.
20. 23
  An expedient, temporary solution, such as a small patch or change to code, meant to be…
  An expedient, temporary solution, such as a small patch or change to code, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date; a workaround.
  - Valleysoft released a hack yesterday to fix the "crashes when more than 50 recipients" bug for people who need it right away. The company says its next release will also solve this as well as add new features.
21. 24
  A computer programmer who makes quick but inelegant changes to computer code to solve…
  A computer programmer who makes quick but inelegant changes to computer code to solve problems or add features.
  - Tsang is great but Zhou is such a hack — I wouldn't want him on my project.
22. 25
  A computer programmer, particularly a veteran or someone not immediately expected to be…
  A computer programmer, particularly a veteran or someone not immediately expected to be capable of programming.
  - Terry wrote that module? I didn't know she was a hack too!
23. 26
  An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming.
  - Flugensoft came out with a neat hack last week that allows your watch to warm up your car if it's below freezing outside.
24. 27
  A trick, shortcut, skill, or novel method to increase productivity, efficiency, or ease.
  - Putting your phone in a sandwich bag when you go to the beach is such a great hack.
  - Woebot was full of tasks and tricks — little mental health hacks — which at first made me roll my eyes. One day Woebot asked me to press an ice cube to my forehead, to feel the sensation as a way of better connecting with my body.
25. The illegal accessing of a computer network.
26. A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state.
27. A practical joke that showcases cleverness and creativity.
28. Time check, as for example upon synchronization of wristwatches.
29. 32
  The act of striking an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but…
  The act of striking an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and more seriously on the back, arm, head, etc.
  - Zersky is still down after that nasty hack by Lenner.
30. 33
  A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter, particularly a choppy, ungraceful one…
  A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter, particularly a choppy, ungraceful one that misses the ball such as at a fastball.
  - And Melnick goes down with one last hack at an O'Malley fastball.
31. 34
  A kick on the shins in football of any type.
  - Wales are awarded a free kick after a minor hack by Järvinen on Llewellyn.
  - “Ain't there just fine scrummages then! and the three trees you see there which come out into the play, that's a tremendous place when the ball hangs there, for you get thrown against the trees, and that's worse than any hack.”
  - Liverpool left-back Robertson had been excellent but was sent off for a reckless hack on Emerson Royal, a decision given after Paul Tierney reviewed the decision on the pitch-side monitor.
32. 35
  Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment.
  - You've been busted, you lost your qualifications as section leader three times, put in hack twice by me, with a history of high speed passes over five air control towers, and one admiral's daughter!
  - “Lieutenant Cauthen, you've got ten seconds to explain yourself before I put you in hack!”
33. 36
  An airplane of poor quality or in poor condition.
  - […] so that he had to make the 300-mile journey in a “hack” plane which had spluttering engines, which did not conduce to an easy mind nor to a comfortable journey; […]
34. A board upon which the falcon's food is placed
  A board upon which the falcon's food is placed; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.
35. A food-rack for cattle.
36. A rack used to dry something, such as bricks, fish, or cheese.
37. A grating in a mill race.
38. To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.
39. To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained.
40. 43
  A horse for hire, especially one which is old and tired.
  - A cold wind, a piercing rain, and a bad road, with a worse hack (for his own horses had been knocked up), rendered more acute the misery which he, as a parted lover, was bound to feel.
41. 44
  A person, often a journalist, hired to do routine work.
  - I got by on hack work for years before I finally published my novel.
  - [W]e know how the life of any hack, legal or literary, in a curacy, or in a marching regiment, or at a merchant’s desk, is dull of routine, and tedious of description.
42. Someone who is available for hire
  Someone who is available for hire; hireling, mercenary.
43. The driver of a taxicab (hackney cab).
44. 47
  A vehicle let for hire
  A vehicle let for hire; originally, a hackney cab, now typically a taxicab.
  - On horse, on foot, in hacks and gilded chariots.
  - The interurban wasn't running because of the holiday, and the hacks, if there were any, would have been clustered round the Post Tavern at the other end of town.
45. 48
  A hearse.
  - 1920s, Jimmie Rodgers, Frankie and Johnny Bring out the rubber-tired buggie/Bring out the rubber-tired hack/I'm takin' my Johnny to the graveyard/But I ain't gonna bring him back
46. 49
  An untalented writer.
  - Dason is nothing but a two-bit hack.
  - He's nothing but the typical hack writer.
47. One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to…
  One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.)
48. A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language.
49. A political agitator.
50. A person who frequently canvasses for votes, either directly or by appearing to…
  A person who frequently canvasses for votes, either directly or by appearing to continuously act with the ulterior motive of furthering their political career.
51. 54
  A writer who hires himself out for any sort of literary work
  A writer who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.
  - Here lies poor Ned Purdon, from misery freed, / Who long was a bookseller's hack.
52. A procuress.
53. To make common or cliched
  To make common or cliched; to vulgarise.
54. To ride a horse at a regular pace
  To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.).
55. 58
  To live the life of a drudge or hack.
  - Poor madam , now condemn'd to hack The rest of life with anxious Jack
56. To use as a hack
  To use as a hack; to let out for hire.
57. 60
  To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.
  - The word "remarkable" has been so hacked of late.
58. 61
  To drive a hackney cab.
  - When I was hacking in Brooklyn, I used to run him over to the Court Street restaurants, where he'd sit in Nick and Tony's Pizzeria […]
59. 62
  To cough noisily.
  - This cold is awful. I can't stop hacking.
60. A dry cough.
61. 64
  A hacking
  A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.
  - he speaks to this very question: which he does with so many hacks and hesitations
62. 65
  An onomatopoeia for coughing.
  - Haaaack... Oooooooog... A-CHOO! That was terrible.. I gotta get in shape...
63. A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some…
  A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for use in hackeysack.
64. To play hackeysack.
65. A surname.

The neighborhood

synonymnagA saddle horse which is old and tired

Derived

apahack, hackable, hackability, hack about, hackaround, hack around, hackathon, hack away, hackbot, hackday, hack down, hackee, hacker, hackery, hackfest, hackfolk, Hackgate, hack in, hacking, hackingly, hacky, hack into, hack it, hack off, hacksaw, hack up, hackusation, hackuser, haggle, outhack, p-hack, unhacked, wallhack, domain hack, hack-and-slash, hack and slasher, hack-and-slasher, hack-and-slay, hackbarrow, Hackintosh · +30 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at hack. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at hack. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at hack

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA