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v. hacked, hack·ing, hacks v.tr. 1. To cut or chop with repeated and irregular blows: hacked down the saplings. 2. To make or shape by hitting or chopping with a sharp implement: hacked a trail through the forest. 3. To break up the surface of (soil). 4. a. To alter (a computer program): hacked her text editor to read HTML. b. To gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization: hacked the firm's personnel database. 5. Slang To cut or mutilate as if by hacking: hacked millions off the budget. 6. Slang To cope with successfully; manage: couldn't hack a second job. v.intr. 1. To chop or cut something by hacking. 2. a. To write or refine computer programs skillfully. b. 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. 3. To cough roughly or harshly. n. 1. A rough, irregular cut made by hacking. 2. A tool, such as a hoe, used for hacking. 3. A blow made by hacking. 4. An attempt to hit a baseball; a swing of the bat. 5. a. An instance of gaining unauthorized access to a computer file or network. b. A program that makes use of existing often proprietary software, adding new features to it. c. A clever modification or improvement. 6. A rough, dry cough. [Middle English hakken, from Old English -haccian; see keg- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots. V., intr., sense 2, back-formation from HACKER1.] hacka·ble adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. 1. A horse used for riding or driving; a hackney. 2. A worn-out horse for hire; a jade. 3. a. One who undertakes unpleasant or distasteful tasks for money or reward; a hireling. b. A writer hired to produce routine or commercial writing. 4. A carriage or hackney for hire. v. hacked, hack·ing, hacks v.tr. 1. To let out (a horse) for hire. 2. To make banal or hackneyed with indiscriminate use. v.intr. 1. To drive a taxicab for a living. 2. To work for hire as a writer. 3. To ride on horseback at an ordinary pace. adj. Phrasal Verb: 1. By, characteristic of, or designating routine or commercial writing: hack prose. 2. Hackneyed; banal. hack out Informal To produce (written material, for example), especially hastily or routinely: hacked out a weekly column. [Short for HACKNEY.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
