Hack

/hæk/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang

intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A tool for chopping.
  • Grammar: hack is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: drudge, accomplish, amble, amputate.
  • Useful contrasts: authorize, complication, creative writer.
  • Usage evidence: I never thought it'd be this easy to hack into your website.

How to use "hack"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hack" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hack" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hack" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hack" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "hack" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "drudge" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "hack", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A tool for chopping. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    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.
  3. 3
    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."

  4. 4
    A dry cough. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for use in hackeysack.
Show 44 more definitions
  1. 6
    a saddle horse used for transportation rather than sport etc. wordnet
  2. 7
    A hacking blow. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A food-rack for cattle.
  4. 9
    A person, often a journalist, hired to do routine work.

    "I got by on hack work for years before I finally published my novel."

  5. 10
    A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough. countable, uncountable

    "he speaks to this very question: which he does with so many hacks and hesitations"

  6. 11
    a horse kept for hire wordnet
  7. 12
    A gouge or notch made by such a blow. countable, uncountable

    "Look you what hacks are on his helmet !"

  8. 13
    A rack used to dry something, such as bricks, fish, or cheese.
  9. 14
    Someone who is available for hire; hireling, mercenary. derogatory
  10. 15
    an old or over-worked horse wordnet
  11. 16
    A try, an attempt. countable, figuratively, uncountable
  12. 17
    A grating in a mill race.
  13. 18
    The driver of a taxicab (hackney cab). slang
  14. 19
    a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money wordnet
  15. 20
    The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery. countable, uncountable
  16. 21
    A vehicle let for hire; originally, a hackney cab, now typically a taxicab. Canada, US, colloquial

    "On horse, on foot, in hacks and gilded chariots."

  17. 22
    a tool (as a hoe or pick or mattock) used for breaking up the surface of the soil wordnet
  18. 23
    A mattock or a miner's pickaxe. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  19. 24
    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"

  20. 25
    one who works hard at boring tasks wordnet
  21. 26
    An improvised device or solution to a problem. countable, informal, uncountable

    "Luckily for us J company picked us up in their hack — two snowmobiles with a big inflatable raft strapped between them."

  22. 27
    An untalented writer. derogatory

    "Dason is nothing but a two-bit hack."

  23. 28
    a mediocre and disdained writer wordnet
  24. 29
    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. countable, slang, uncountable

    "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."

  25. 30
    One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.) derogatory
  26. 31
    a politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends wordnet
  27. 32
    A computer programmer who makes quick but inelegant changes to computer code to solve problems or add features. countable, dated, slang, uncountable

    "Tsang is great but Zhou is such a hack — I wouldn't want him on my project."

  28. 33
    A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language. derogatory
  29. 34
    A computer programmer, particularly a veteran or someone not immediately expected to be capable of programming. countable, dated, slang, uncountable

    "Terry wrote that module? I didn't know she was a hack too!"

  30. 35
    A political agitator.
  31. 36
    An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming. countable, slang, uncountable

    "Flugensoft came out with a neat hack last week that allows your watch to warm up your car if it's below freezing outside."

  32. 37
    A person who frequently canvasses for votes, either directly or by appearing to continuously act with the ulterior motive of furthering their political career. UK, derogatory
  33. 38
    A trick, shortcut, skill, or novel method to increase productivity, efficiency, or ease. colloquial, countable, uncountable

    "Putting your phone in a sandwich bag when you go to the beach is such a great hack."

  34. 39
    A writer who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge. obsolete

    "Here lies poor Ned Purdon, from misery freed, / Who long was a bookseller's hack."

  35. 40
    The illegal accessing of a computer network. countable, slang, uncountable
  36. 41
    A procuress. obsolete
  37. 42
    A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state. countable, slang, uncountable

    "[…] found out a discarded sex mini-game in the code, and made it available again in the modified PC version of the game that they nicknamed “Hot Coffee.” This hack of the game created a controversy, since the inclusion of sexual content would change its age rating, […]"

  38. 43
    A practical joke that showcases cleverness and creativity. countable, uncountable
  39. 44
    Time check, as for example upon synchronization of wristwatches. countable, slang, uncountable
  40. 45
    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. countable, uncountable

    "Zersky is still down after that nasty hack by Lenner."

  41. 46
    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. countable, uncountable

    "And Melnick goes down with one last hack at an O'Malley fastball."

  42. 47
    A kick on the shins in football of any type. countable, uncountable

    "Wales are awarded a free kick after a minor hack by Järvinen on Llewellyn."

  43. 48
    Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment. slang, uncountable

    "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!"

  44. 49
    An airplane of poor quality or in poor condition. countable, slang, uncountable

    "Henebry's planes returned to Japan to reload, and early in the morning brought almost 3,000 more troopers to Korea […] Before sunrise next day, all troops in the maneuver had been picked up again and airlifted in “Henebry Hacks” back to Japan."

Verb
  1. 1
    To chop or cut down in a rough manner. transitive

    "They hacked the brush down and made their way through the jungle."

  2. 2
    To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.
  3. 3
    To make common or cliched; to vulgarise. dated
  4. 4
    To cough noisily. intransitive

    "This cold is awful. I can't stop hacking."

  5. 5
    To play hackeysack.
Show 28 more definitions
  1. 6
    cough spasmodically wordnet
  2. 7
    To withstand or put up with a difficult situation.

    "Can you hack it out here with no electricity or running water?"

  3. 8
    To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained.
  4. 9
    To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.).
  5. 10
    significantly cut up a manuscript wordnet
  6. 11
    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."

  7. 12
    To live the life of a drudge or hack. obsolete

    "Poor madam , now condemn'd to hack The rest of life with anxious Jack"

  8. 13
    fix a computer program piecemeal until it works wordnet
  9. 14
    To accomplish a difficult programming task.

    "He can hack like no one else and make the program work as expected."

  10. 15
    To use as a hack; to let out for hire.
  11. 16
    kick on the shins wordnet
  12. 17
    To work with something on an intimately technical level. slang, transitive

    "I'm currently hacking distributed garbage collection."

  13. 18
    To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.

    "The word "remarkable" has been so hacked of late."

  14. 19
    kick on the arms wordnet
  15. 20
    To apply a trick, shortcut, skill, or novel method to something to increase productivity, efficiency or ease. broadly, colloquial, transitive

    "I read up on dating tips so I can hack my sex life."

  16. 21
    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 […]"

  17. 22
    cut with a hacking tool wordnet
  18. 23
    To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code. slang, transitive
  19. 24
    cut away wordnet
  20. 25
    To gain unauthorized access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation). broadly, slang, transitive

    "When I logged in to the social network, I discovered I'd been hacked."

  21. 26
    be able to manage or manage successfully wordnet
  22. 27
    To cheat by using unauthorized modifications. intransitive

    "That player must be hacking, they got so many kills last game."

  23. 28
    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."

  24. 29
    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."

  25. 30
    To swing at a pitched ball.

    "He went to the batter's box hacking."

  26. 31
    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."

  27. 32
    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."

  28. 33
    To strike lightly as part of tapotement massage. transitive

    "[…] laterally from and then towards the spine, and continued downwards from the shoulders until the whole back has been hacked."

Intj
  1. 1
    An onomatopoeia for coughing.

    "Haaaack... Oooooooog... A-CHOO! That was terrible.. I gotta get in shape..."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
drudgeaccomplishambleamputateantiquatedaqua lung

Antonyms

authorizecomplicationcreative writerhindrance

Example

"I never thought it'd be this easy to hack into your website."

Common questions

What does "hack" mean?

A tool for chopping.

What is a synonym for "hack"?

Common synonyms include: drudge, accomplish, amble, amputate, antiquated, aqua lung.

How do you use "hack" in a sentence?

I never thought it'd be this easy to hack into your website.

How do you pronounce "hack"?

Pronounced /hæk/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English hacken, hakken, from Old English *haccian (“to hack”), from Proto-West Germanic *hakkōn, from Proto-Germanic *hakkōną (“to chop; hoe; hew”), from Proto-Indo-European *keg-, *keng- (“to be sharp; peg; hook; handle”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian häkje (“to hack”), West Frisian hakje (“to hack”), Dutch hakken (“to chop up; hack”), German hacken (“to chop; hack; hoe”), Danish hakke (“to chop”), Swedish hacka (“to hack; chop”), French hacher (“to chop”). The computer senses date back to at least 1955 when it initially referred to creative problem solving. By 1963, the negative connotations of “black hat” or malicious hacking had become associated with telephone hacking (cf. phreaking).

Etymology 2

Variations of hatch, heck.

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of hackney (“an ordinary horse”), probably from place name Hackney.

Etymology 4

Unclear. Perhaps imitative; compare hock, hawk. Alternatively, perhaps from hack (“chop; do something difficult”) via the idea of doing something (like breathing) or with difficulty.

Etymology 5

From hackysack.

Etymology 6

* 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”).

More for "hack"

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