hacker

noun

hack·​er ˈha-kər 

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

Synonyms of hacker

• cracker
• cyberpunk
• geek

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

Fortunately, exploiting the flaw isn't easy since the hacker would need to be nearby. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 14 Sep. 2026

OpenAI in July disclosed its autonomous agents successfully breached AI platform Hugging Face, while Anthropic in April took steps to limit the rollout of its Mythos AI model over concerns hackers could leverage it for cyberattacks. — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026

The worst impacts were felt in Georgia, where hackers’ successful shutdown of a pump station led to a drop in water pressure, which increased the risk of contamination of drinking water, the center reported. — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 8 Sep. 2026

The switch means hackers spend drastically less time actively hacking, and in some cases can conduct an entire campaign in less than six hours, the report says. — Kevin Collier, NBC news, 8 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hacker

• acker
• backer
• blacker
• cracker
• lacquer
• packer
• slacker
• stacker
• thacker
• tracker
• attacker
• backpacker

Kids 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