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
The company promises its network is purely voluntary, and secured against hackers.
—
Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 10 Feb. 2026
Increasingly capable coding models have been projected to ease hackers’ or bad actors’ ability to conduct cyberattacks, while also potentially boosting cyber defenses.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
If data is encrypted, it is supposed to be locked away from hackers, companies and governments alike.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In the following weeks, the hackers conducted reconnaissance on Czech government targets including the Army, police, Parliament and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the report.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hacker
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Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 10 Feb. 2026
Increasingly capable coding models have been projected to ease hackers’ or bad actors’ ability to conduct cyberattacks, while also potentially boosting cyber defenses.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
If data is encrypted, it is supposed to be locked away from hackers, companies and governments alike.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
In the following weeks, the hackers conducted reconnaissance on Czech government targets including the Army, police, Parliament and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the report.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 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 12 Feb. 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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