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
However, both apps are still susceptible to account takeovers, which can allow someone to access an account on a second phone, paving the way for a hacker to steal access and spy on messages.
—
Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026
The warning follows a similar one issued by Germany in February, saying that unidentified hackers were trying to phish high-profile Signal users in German military and politics.
—Kevin Collier, NBC news, 9 Mar. 2026
Civil liberties’ advocates warn that concentrating large volumes of identity data among a small number of verification vendors can create attractive targets for hackers and government demands.
—Barbara Booth, CNBC, 8 Mar. 2026
This gives hackers the ability to run stealthy, coordinated espionage campaigns across multiple organizations simultaneously, dramatically expanding the global threat.
—Don Aviv, Time, 7 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hacker
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Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026
The warning follows a similar one issued by Germany in February, saying that unidentified hackers were trying to phish high-profile Signal users in German military and politics.
—Kevin Collier, NBC news, 9 Mar. 2026
Civil liberties’ advocates warn that concentrating large volumes of identity data among a small number of verification vendors can create attractive targets for hackers and government demands.
—Barbara Booth, CNBC, 8 Mar. 2026
This gives hackers the ability to run stealthy, coordinated espionage campaigns across multiple organizations simultaneously, dramatically expanding the global threat.
—Don Aviv, Time, 7 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hacker
Cite this Entry
“Hacker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hacker. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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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