hack
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /hæk/
rhymes: -æk
Forms: form: hacks
Etymology: From Middle English hacken, hakken, from Old English *haccian (“to hack”), from Proto-West Germanic *hakkōn, from Proto-Germanic *hakkōną (“to chop; hoe; hew”), from Proto-Indo-European *keg-, *keng- (“to be sharp; peg; hook; handle”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian häkje (“to hack”), West Frisian hakje (“to hack”), Dutch hakken (“to chop up; hack”), German hacken (“to chop; hack; hoe”), Danish hakke (“to chop”), Swedish hacka (“to hack; chop”), French hacher (“to chop”).
The computer senses date back to at least 1955 when it initially referred to creative problem solving. By 1963, the negative connotations of “black hat” or malicious hacking had become associated with telephone hacking (cf. phreaking).
Senses: glosses: A tool for chopping.
glosses: A hacking blow.
examples: text: Look you what hacks are on his helmet !
ref: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
glosses: A gouge or notch made by such a blow.
glosses: A try, an attempt.
topics: ball-games
curling
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.
glosses: A mattock or a miner's pickaxe.
examples: text: Luckily for us J company picked us up in their hack — two snowmobiles with a big inflatable raft strapped between them.
glosses: An improvised device or solution to a problem.
examples: text: Valleysoft released a hack yesterday to fix the "crashes when more than 50 recipients" bug for people who need it right away. The company says its next release will also solve this as well as add new features.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: 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; a workaround.
examples: text: Tsang is great but Zhou is such a hack — I wouldn't want him on my project.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A computer programmer who makes quick but inelegant changes to computer code to solve problems or add features.
examples: text: Terry wrote that module? I didn't know she was a hack too!
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A computer programmer, particularly a veteran or someone not immediately expected to be capable of programming.
examples: text: Flugensoft came out with a neat hack last week that allows your watch to warm up your car if it's below freezing outside.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming.
examples: text: Putting your phone in a sandwich bag when you go to the beach is such a great hack.
text: Woebot was full of tasks and tricks — little mental health hacks — which at first made me roll my eyes. One day Woebot asked me to press an ice cube to my forehead, to feel the sensation as a way of better connecting with my body.
ref: 2022 September 27, Barclay Bram, “My Therapist, the Robot”, in The New York Times:
glosses: A trick, shortcut, skill, or novel method to increase productivity, efficiency, or ease.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: The illegal accessing of a computer network.
examples: text: […] found out a discarded sex mini-game in the code, and made it available again in the modified PC version of the game that they nicknamed “Hot Coffee.” This hack of the game created a controversy, since the inclusion of sexual content would change its age rating, […]
ref: 2014, Clara Fernández-Vara, Introduction to Game Analysis, page 165:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state.
qualifier: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
glosses: A practical joke that showcases cleverness and creativity.
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: Time check, as for example upon synchronization of wristwatches.
examples: text: Zersky is still down after that nasty hack by Lenner.
topics: hobbies
ice-hockey
lifestyle
skating
sports
glosses: The act of striking an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and more seriously on the back, arm, head, etc.
examples: text: And Melnick goes down with one last hack at an O'Malley fastball.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter, particularly a choppy, ungraceful one that misses the ball such as at a fastball.
examples: text: Wales are awarded a free kick after a minor hack by Järvinen on Llewellyn.
text: “Ain't there just fine scrummages then! and the three trees you see there which come out into the play, that's a tremendous place when the ball hangs there, for you get thrown against the trees, and that's worse than any hack.”
ref: 1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days:
text: Liverpool left-back Robertson had been excellent but was sent off for a reckless hack on Emerson Royal, a decision given after Paul Tierney reviewed the decision on the pitch-side monitor.
ref: 2021 December 19, Alex Bysouth, “Tottenham Hotpsur 2 - 2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: A kick on the shins in football of any type.
examples: text: You've been busted, you lost your qualifications as section leader three times, put in hack twice by me, with a history of high speed passes over five air control towers, and one admiral's daughter!
ref: 1986, Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., Top Gun (motion picture), spoken by Stinger (James Tolkan):
text: “Lieutenant Cauthen, you've got ten seconds to explain yourself before I put you in hack!”
ref: 2013, David Cauthen, When Destiny Comes to a Fork in the Road, page 426:
topics: government
military
naval
navy
politics
war
glosses: Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment.
examples: text: Henebry's planes returned to Japan to reload, and early in the morning brought almost 3,000 more troopers to Korea […] Before sunrise next day, all troops in the maneuver had been picked up again and airlifted in “Henebry Hacks” back to Japan.
ref: 1952, Air Reservist, page 6:
text: […] so that he had to make the 300-mile journey in a “hack” plane which had spluttering engines, which did not conduce to an easy mind nor to a comfortable journey; […]
ref: 1967, Christian Advocate, volume 47, page 292:
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: An airplane of poor quality or in poor condition.
Synonyms: sense: access attempt
word: crack
sense: an illegal means to gain advantage
word: exploit
sense: expedient, temporary solution
word: band-aid
sense: expedient, temporary solution
word: contrivance
sense: expedient, temporary solution
word: improvision
sense: expedient, temporary solution
word: improvisation
sense: expedient, temporary solution
word: kludge
sense: expedient, temporary solution
word: makeshift
sense: expedient, temporary solution
word: quick fix
sense: expedient, temporary solution
word: patch
sense: trick to increase productivity or efficiency
word: lifehack
Derived terms: domain hack
hack-and-slash
hack and slasher
hack-and-slasher
hack-and-slay
hackbarrow
Hackintosh
hack-iron
hackish
hack job
hacklab
hackproof
hack saw
hackspace
hack squat
hackster
hacktivism
hacktivist
hackworm
life hack
lifehack
maphack
megahack
menu hack
under hack