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
In this instance the warning comes not from the bank but from the real hacker, and moving your money to safety is the actual theft.
—
Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Many city services have been disrupted as a result, but officials say the move was necessary to prevent hackers from doing more damage.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 12 Aug. 2025
Yes, many security professionals wait until getting to a hacker conference to install patches.
—PC Magazine, 9 Aug. 2025
In 2023, pro-Russian hackers used an .svg tag to exploit a cross-site scripting bug in Roundcube, a server application that was used by more than 1,000 webmail services and millions of their end users.
—Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hacker
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Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Many city services have been disrupted as a result, but officials say the move was necessary to prevent hackers from doing more damage.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 12 Aug. 2025
Yes, many security professionals wait until getting to a hacker conference to install patches.
—PC Magazine, 9 Aug. 2025
In 2023, pro-Russian hackers used an .svg tag to exploit a cross-site scripting bug in Roundcube, a server application that was used by more than 1,000 webmail services and millions of their end users.
—Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 8 Aug. 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 19 Aug. 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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