Word: hack Part of Speech: noun 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”). Related to hatch. 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). Pronunciation: /hæk/ 1. A tool for chopping. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. A hacking blow. Labels: countable, uncountable 3. A gouge or notch made by such a blow. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Look you what hacks are on his helmet ! 4. A try, an attempt. Labels: countable, figuratively, uncountable 5. The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery. Labels: countable, uncountable 6. A mattock or a miner's pickaxe. Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable 7. An improvised device or solution to a problem. Labels: countable, informal, uncountable Example: Luckily for us J company picked us up in their hack — two snowmobiles with a big inflatable raft strapped between them. 8. 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. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable Example: 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. 9. A computer programmer who makes quick but inelegant changes to computer code to solve problems or add features. Labels: countable, dated, slang, uncountable Example: Tsang is great but Zhou is such a hack — I wouldn't want him on my project. 10. A computer programmer, particularly a veteran or someone not immediately expected to be capable of programming. Labels: countable, dated, slang, uncountable Example: Terry wrote that module? I didn't know she was a hack too! 11. An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable Example: Flugensoft came out with a neat hack last week that allows your watch to warm up your car if it's below freezing outside. 12. A trick, shortcut, skill, or novel method to increase productivity, efficiency, or ease. Labels: colloquial, countable, uncountable Example: Putting your phone in a sandwich bag when you go to the beach is such a great hack. Example: 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. 13. The illegal accessing of a computer network. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable 14. A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable Example: […] 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, […] 15. A practical joke that showcases cleverness and creativity. Labels: countable, uncountable 16. Time check, as for example upon synchronization of wristwatches. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable 17. 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. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Zersky is still down after that nasty hack by Lenner. 18. 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. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: And Melnick goes down with one last hack at an O'Malley fastball. 19. A kick on the shins in football of any type. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Wales are awarded a free kick after a minor hack by Järvinen on Llewellyn. Example: “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.” 20. Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment. Labels: slang, uncountable Example: 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! Example: “Lieutenant Cauthen, you've got ten seconds to explain yourself before I put you in hack!” 21. An airplane of poor quality or in poor condition. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable Example: 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. Example: […] 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; […]