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
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
And last month, hackers knocked out a passenger check-in system, causing long delays, cancellations and chaos at airports across Europe.
—
Martin Goillandeau, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2025
According to court filings, the attack occurred between May 13 and June 17, 2024, with hackers accessing names, Social Security numbers, financial accounts, driver's license numbers, health insurance data and other sensitive information.
—Brian Sloan, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025
This means hackers, ISPs, and even public Wi-Fi snoopers cannot intercept or track your online movements.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2025
The Oscar-winning actor, 44, starred in the USA Network series as troubled computer hacker Elliot Alderson for four seasons from 2015 to 2019.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hacker
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Martin Goillandeau, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2025
According to court filings, the attack occurred between May 13 and June 17, 2024, with hackers accessing names, Social Security numbers, financial accounts, driver's license numbers, health insurance data and other sensitive information.
—Brian Sloan, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025
This means hackers, ISPs, and even public Wi-Fi snoopers cannot intercept or track your online movements.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2025
The Oscar-winning actor, 44, starred in the USA Network series as troubled computer hacker Elliot Alderson for four seasons from 2015 to 2019.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hacker
Cite this Entry
“Hacker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hacker. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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