Definition of hack
hacked;
hacking;
hacks
1 a
: to cut or sever with repeated irregular or unskillful blows
b
: to cut or shape by or as if by crude or ruthless strokes
- hacking out new election districts
2
: to clear or make by or as if by cutting away vegetation
- hacked his way through the brush
3 a
informal
: to manage successfully
- just couldn't hack the new job
4
: to gain illegal access to (a computer network, system, etc.)
- In the last decade they have hacked computer networks in Estonia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, France, and Bulgaria—often stealing data.
- —The New York Times
- … perhaps I would have become one of those lost souls wandering the basement of MIT playing with computers and hacking the telephone network.
- —Lee Smolin
1 a
: to make chopping strokes or blows
- hacked at the weeds
- hacking away at the work force
b
: to play inexpert golf
2
: to cough in a short dry manner
3
: loaf
—usually used with around
- hacking around at the corner drugstore
- —Ruth McKenney
4 a
: to write computer programs for enjoyment
b
: to gain access to a computer illegally
- trying to hack into the network
—
hack it
1
: 1cope 1a
- I can't hack it any longer.
2
: to be successful
- couldn't hack it in the world of professional sports
