Definition

1. Noun:

   • A horse for ordinary riding or driving: A horse used for general transportation or hire, often not of high breeding or quality.
   • A worn-out or overworked horse: An old or tired horse.
   • A taxicab or driver for hire: A car or driver whose job is to transport passengers for money.
   • A tool for chopping or breaking soil: A tool, such as a mattock or hoe, used for breaking up the ground.
   • A mediocre or uninspired writer: A writer who produces dull, routine, or commercial work, often for hire.
   • A person who does routine, dull work: Someone who works hard at boring or tedious tasks.
   • A politician controlled by a small group: A politician who is part of a small, controlling clique within a party, serving private rather than public interests.

2. Verb:

   • To cut or chop roughly: To cut or chop with heavy, irregular blows.
   • To manage or cope (often with difficulty): To be able to handle or endure a difficult situation.
   • To cough in a short, dry manner: To make a short, dry, and often repeated cough.
   • To gain unauthorized access to a computer system: To break into a computer system or network.
   • To make rough cuts or changes: To make makeshift or piecemeal changes, especially to fix a computer program.
   • To kick on the shins (in sports): To illegally kick an opponent on the shins.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • He hired a hack to take him to the village. (He hired a horse for the journey.)
  • The old hack could barely pull the cart. (The worn-out horse was very weak.)
  • I took a hack to the airport. (I took a taxi to the airport.)
  • That journalist is just a hack, writing sensational stories. (That journalist is a mediocre writer.)
  • He's just a party hack, never having an original idea. (He is a politician controlled by his party.)

• Verb:

  • They had to hack a path through the jungle. (They had to cut a rough path.)
  • I don't think I can hack this job much longer. (I don't think I can endure this job.)
  • The smoker would hack every morning. (The smoker would have a dry cough.)
  • Hackers tried to hack the company's database. (They tried to gain unauthorized access.)
  • I need to hack this code to make it work. (I need to make rough fixes to this program.)

Advanced Usage

• "Hack it": To be able to cope with or succeed in a demanding situation.

  • The training is tough, but I think I can hack it. (I think I can manage the difficult training.)

• "Hack around": To spend time doing unimportant things, especially with computers, in an experimental way.

  • He likes to hack around with old software. (He likes to experiment casually with old software.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hacker (n): A person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data; or, an enthusiastic and skillful programmer.

  • A security hacker breached the system.
  • She's a great hacker who builds useful apps.

• Hacking (adj/n): Relating to or involving the act of hacking (computers or chopping).

  • He was accused of hacking activities.
  • The constant hacking of his cough was annoying.

Synonyms

• Chop (v): To cut something into pieces with repeated blows.
• Cope (v): To deal effectively with something difficult.
• Taxi (n): A car licensed to transport passengers for money.
• Drudge (n): A person made to do hard, menial, or dull work.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Hack into (something): To gain illegal access to a computer system.

  • They hacked into the bank's mainframe.

• Hack off (something): To remove something by chopping.

  • He hacked off the dead branch.

Related Idioms

• "Hack work": Routine, uninspired work done for money.

  • He took on the hack work to pay the bills.

• "Can't hack it": To be unable to cope with or succeed in a situation.

  • If you can't hack the pressure, this isn't the job for you.

Noun

1. a saddle horse used for transportation rather than sport etc.
2. a horse kept for hire
3. an old or over-worked horse
4. a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money
5. a tool (as a hoe or pick or mattock) used for breaking up the surface of the soil
6. a mediocre and disdained writer
7. a politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends
8. one who works hard at boring tasks

Verb

1. cough spasmodically
   • The patient with emphysema is hacking all day
2. significantly cut up a manuscript
3. fix a computer program piecemeal until it works
   • I'm not very good at hacking but I'll give it my best
4. kick on the shins
5. kick on the arms
6. cut away
   • he hacked his way through the forest
7. be able to manage or manage successfully
   • I can't hack it anymore
   • she could not cut the long days in the office
8. cut with a hacking tool