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
• geek

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

The company’s release notes doesn’t mention any hackers exploiting the flaw. —Senior Reporter, PC Magazine, 29 Sep. 2025

Unfortunately, hackers know this too. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2025

Lisbeth Salander is part Western hero, part expert hacker, part international spy and part Pippi Longstocking. —Anders De La Motte, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025

Critics of the law warn that a site operator could sell the ID information, which could also be obtained by hackers and disseminated. —Ray Stern, AZCentral.com, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hacker

• acker
• backer
• blacker
• cracker
• lacquer
• packer
• slacker
• stacker
• thacker
• tracker
• attacker
• backpacker

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