hack
noun
- 1
A tool for chopping.
- 2
A hacking blow.
- 3
A gouge or notch made by such a blow.
- 4
A dry cough.
- 5
A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.
- 6
A try, an attempt.
- 7
The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.
- 8
A mattock or a miner's pickaxe.
- 9
An expedient, temporary solution, such as a small patch or change to code, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date.
- 10
An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming.
- 11
A trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase productivity, efficiency or ease.
“Putting your phone in a sandwich bag when you go to the beach is such a great hack.”
- 12
An illegal attempt to gain access to a computer network.
- 13
A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state.
- 14
Time check.
- 15
A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter.
“He took a few hacks, but the pitcher finally struck him out.”
- 16
A kick on the shins in football.
- 17
Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment.
verb
- 1
To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
“They hacked the brush down and made their way through the jungle.”
- 2
To cough noisily.
“This cold is awful. I can't stop hacking.”
- 3
To withstand or put up with a difficult situation.
“Can you hack it out here with no electricity or running water?”
- 4
To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that, while being effective, is inelegant or makes the program harder to maintain.
“I hacked in a fix for this bug, but we'll still have to do a real fix later.”
- 5
To accomplish a difficult programming task.
“He can hack like no one else and make the program work as expected.”
- 6
To work with something on an intimately technical level.
“I'm currently hacking distributed garbage collection.”
- 7
(by extension) To apply a trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to something to increase productivity, efficiency or ease.
“I read up on dating tips so I can hack my sex life.”
- 8
To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code.
- 9
(by extension) To gain unauthorised access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation).
“When I logged into the social network, I discovered I'd been hacked.”
- 10
To strike an opponent's leg with one's hockey stick.
“He's going to the penalty box after hacking the defender in front of the goal.”
- 11
To make a flailing attempt to hit the puck with a hockey stick.
“There's a scramble in front of the net as the forwards are hacking at the bouncing puck.”
- 12
To swing at a pitched ball.
“He went to the batter's box hacking.”
- 13
(soccer and rugby) To kick (a player) on the shins.
- 14
To strike in a frantic movement.
- 15
To strike lightly as part of tapotement massage.
noun
- 1
A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.
- 2
A food-rack for cattle.
- 3
A rack used to dry something, such as bricks, fish, or cheese.
- 4
A grating in a mill race.
verb
- 1
To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.
- 2
To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained.
noun
- 1
A horse for hire, especially one which is old and tired.
- 2
A person, often a journalist, hired to do routine work.
“I got by on hack work for years before I finally published my novel.”
- 3
Someone who is available for hire; hireling, mercenary.
- 4
A taxicab (hackney cab) driver.
- 5
A vehicle let for hire; originally, a hackney coach, now typically a taxicab.
- 6
A hearse.
- 7
(authorship) An untalented writer.
“Dason is nothing but a two-bit hack.”
- 8
One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.)
- 9
A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language.
- 10
A political agitator. (slightly derogatory)
- 11
A writer who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.
- 12
A procuress.
Synonyms
verb
- 1
To make common or cliched; to vulgarise.
- 2
To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.).
- 3
To be exposed or offered or to common use for hire; to turn prostitute.
- 4
To live the life of a drudge or hack.
- 5
To use as a hack; to let out for hire.
- 6
To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.
noun
- 1
A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for use in hackeysack.
verb
- 1
To play hackeysack.
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