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

She’s tasked with apprehending The Puppet Master (Iemasa Kayumi), a hacker who appears to be tapping directly into these networked minds and altering memories. — David Faris, TheWeek, 14 Aug. 2026

Latin American countries have been targeted by cyberattacks recently, especially Colombia and Venezuela, as hackers look to steal data, cripple government systems, or just take advantage of unrest, elections, or other national events. — Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 14 Aug. 2026

The ultimate cyberpunk thriller stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, an office drone by day / hacker by night who discovers, thanks to Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), that his life is a simulation. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026

Huang of the Taiwan Network Information Center said the July incident demonstrated that AI has become the main player in cybersecurity beyond simply assisting human hackers in partial automation tasks. — John Liu, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 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