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

That's enough to craft a convincing phishing message, which some hackers may already be doing. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026

Breaking bad Retail, hospitality and medical companies trusted cyber expert Angelo Martino to negotiate with hackers who were trying to extort them. —Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026

In recent months, authorities in Sweden, Poland, Denmark and Norway have all warned that hackers linked to Russia have targeted their critical infrastructure including power plants and dams. —ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026

That same year, hackers stole student identification numbers and email addresses from Long Beach Unified and posted the data online. —Jason Henry, Daily News, 18 Apr. 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