hack
/hæk/ verb, noun, interjection, proper noun
Forms hacks hacking hacked
- verb (transitive) To chop or cut down in a rough manner. “They hacked the brush down and made their way through the jungle.”
- verb To withstand or put up with a difficult situation. “Can you hack it out here with no electricity or running water?”
- verb (computing) 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.”
- verb (computing) To accomplish a difficult programming task. “He can hack like no one else and make the program work as expected.”
- verb (computing, slang, transitive) To work with something on an intimately technical level. “I'm currently hacking distributed garbage collection.”
- verb (transitive, colloquial, by extension) 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.”
- verb (transitive, slang, computing) To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code.
- verb (transitive, slang, computing, by extension) 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.”
- noun A tool for chopping.
- noun A hacking blow.
- noun A gouge or notch made by such a blow.
- noun (figuratively) A try, an attempt.
- noun (curling) The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.
- noun (obsolete) A mattock or a miner's pickaxe.
- noun (informal) 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.”
- noun (computing, slang) 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.”
- noun (falconry) 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.
- noun A food-rack for cattle.
- noun A rack used to dry something, such as bricks, fish, or cheese.
- noun A grating in a mill race.
Synonyms
frob tweak kludge bodge crack band-aid contrivance improvision improvisation makeshift quick fix patch lifehack exploit nag drudge hacker machine politician ward-heeler political hack hack writer literary hack cab taxi taxicab jade plug chop cut hack on
Etymology
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”). Related to hatch.
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).
Variations of hatch, heck.
Abbreviation of hackney (“an ordinary horse”), probably from place name Hackney.
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A frame or grating of various kinds; as, a frame for drying bricks, fish, or cheese; a rack for feeding cattle; a grating in a mill race, etc.
- noun Unburned brick or tile, stacked up for drying.
- verb To cut irregulary, without skill or definite purpose; to notch; to mangle by repeated strokes of a cutting instrument; as, to hack a post.
- verb Fig.: To mangle in speaking. Shak.
Etymology [See Hatch a half door.]
Etymology [OE. hakken; akin to D. hakken, G. hacken, Dan. hakke, Sw. hacka, and perh. to E. hew. Cf. Hew to cut, Haggle.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hack”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details