hacker

noun

hack·​er ˈha-kər 

1

: one that hacks

2

: a person who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity

a tennis hacker

3

: an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer

4

: a person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system

Synonyms

• cracker
• cyberpunk

Examples of hacker in a Sentence

My friends and I have been playing golf for years, but we're still just a bunch of hackers.

the company's security experts spent days trying to figure out how a hacker could have gotten past the firewall

Recent Examples on the Web

Cryptocurrency tracing firm Chainalysis found that in 2023, ransomware victims paid the hackers targeting them fully $1.1 billion, a new record. —Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 23 Apr. 2024

Officials revealed that the provision had proved crucial to tracking fentanyl smuggling across the Mexican border and identifying the hacker behind the 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline. —David V. Gioe, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hacker

noun

hack·​er ˈhak-ər 

1

: one that hacks

2

: a person who is unskilled at a particular activity

3

: an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer

4

: a person who illegally gains access to a computer system