Synonyms of hacker

hacker

noun

ˈha-kər 

1

as in cracker

a person who illegally gains access to a computer system and sometimes tampers with its information

the company's security experts spent days trying to figure out how a hacker could have gotten past the firewall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cracker
• cyberpunk
• geek
• techie
• technocrat
• gearhead
• technophile
• phisher
• computerist

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• technophobe
• computerphobe

2

as in amateur

a person who lacks experience and competence in an art or science

weekend golf hackers who are there mainly for the social networking

Synonyms & Similar Words

• amateur
• kid
• beginner
• hack
• novice
• freshman
• rookie
• newcomer
• jackleg
• trifler
• inexpert
• learner
• greenhorn
• tyro
• tenderfoot
• neophyte

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expert
• master
• craftsman
• ace
• shark
• hand
• past master
• virtuoso
• wizard
• maestro
• whiz
• adept
• veteran
• crackerjack
• sharp
• vet
• old hand
• old-timer

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hacker

Citing an unnamed crew member, Mehr alleged hackers breached the engine room, reducing engine cooling flow, increasing engine speed and interfering with fuel systems. — Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026

The use of decoys inside a network to trap hackers isn’t new. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 16 Sep. 2026

Keanu Reeves stars as hacker Neo, who discovers that humanity’s been enslaved by a malevolent cyber-intelligence and joins up with badass rebels Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) to fight back. — Sara Netzley, Entertainment Weekly, 11 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