hack1

[hak] /hæk/
verb (used with object)
1.
to cut, notch, slice, chop, or sever (something) with or as with heavy, irregular blows (often followed by up or down):
to hack meat; to hack down trees.
2.
to break up the surface of (the ground).
3.
to clear (a road, path, etc.) by cutting away vines, trees, brush, or the like:
They hacked a trail through the jungle.
4.
to damage or injure by crude, harsh, or insensitive treatment; mutilate; mangle:
The editor hacked the story to bits.
5.
to reduce or cut ruthlessly; trim:
The Senate hacked the budget severely before returning it to the House.
6.
Slang. to deal or cope with; handle:
He can't hack all this commuting.
7.
Computers.
  1. to devise or modify (a computer program), usually skillfully.
  2. to circumvent security and break into (another's server, website, or the like) with malicious intent:
    Skilled criminals hacked the Bank of America's servers yesterday, jeopardizing thousands of accounts.
8.
Basketball. to strike the arm of (an opposing ball handler):
He got a penalty for hacking the shooter.
9.
British. to kick or kick at the shins of (an opposing player) in Rugby football.
10.
South Midland and Southern U.S. to embarrass, annoy, or disconcert.
verb (used without object)
11.
to make rough cuts or notches; deal cutting blows.
12.
to cough harshly, usually in short and repeated spasms.
13.
Tennis.
  1. to take a poor, ineffective, or awkward swing at the ball.
  2. to play tennis at a mediocre level.
14.
British. to kick or kick at an opponent's shins in Rugby football.
noun
15.
a cut, gash, or notch.
16.
a tool, as an ax, hoe, or pick, for hacking.
17.
an act or instance of hacking; a cutting blow.
18.
a short, rasping dry cough.
19.
a hesitation in speech.
20.
Curling. an indentation made in the ice at the foot score, for supporting the foot in delivering the stone.
21.
British. a gash in the skin produced by a kick, as in Rugby football.
Verb phrases
22.
hack around, Slang. to pass the time idly; indulge in idle talk.
23.
hack into, Computers. to break into (a server, website, etc.) from a remote location to steal or damage data:
Students are constantly trying to hack into their school server to change their grades.
Idioms
24.
hack it, Slang. to handle or cope with a situation or an assignment adequately and calmly:
The new recruit just can't hack it.
Origin
1150-1200; Middle English hacken; compare Old English tōhaccian to hack to pieces; cognate with Dutch hakken, German hacken
Synonym Study
1. mangle, haggle. See cut.

hack2

[hak] /hæk/
noun
1.
a person, as an artist or writer, who exploits, for money, his or her creative ability or training in the production of dull, unimaginative, and trite work; one who produces banal and mediocre work in the hope of gaining commercial success in the arts:
As a painter, he was little more than a hack.
2.
a professional who renounces or surrenders individual independence, integrity, belief, etc., in return for money or other reward in the performance of a task normally thought of as involving a strong personal commitment:
a political hack.
3.
a writer who works on the staff of a publisher at a dull or routine task; someone who works as a literary drudge:
He was one among the many hacks on Grub Street.
Synonyms: scribbler.
4.
British.
  1. a horse kept for common hire or adapted for general work, especially ordinary riding.
  2. a saddle horse used for transportation, rather than for show, hunting, or the like.
5.
an old or worn-out horse; jade.
6.
a coach or carriage kept for hire; hackney.
7.
Informal.
  1. a taxi.
  2. Also, hackie. a cabdriver.
8.
Slang. a prison guard.
verb (used with object)
9.
to make a hack of; let out for hire.
Synonyms: lease, rent.
10.
to make trite or stale by frequent use; hackney.
verb (used without object)
11.
Informal. to drive a taxi.
12.
to ride or drive on the road at an ordinary pace, as distinguished from cross-country riding or racing.
13.
British. to rent a horse, especially by the hour.
adjective
14.
hired as a hack; of a hired sort:
a hack writer; hack work.
15.
hackneyed; trite; banal:
hack writing.
Origin
1680-90; short for hackney

hack3

[hak] /hæk/
noun
1.
a rack for drying food, as fish.
2.
a rack for holding fodder for livestock.
3.
a low pile of unburnt bricks in the course of drying.
verb (used with object)
4.
to place (something) on a hack, as for drying or feeding.
5.
Falconry. to train (a young hawk) by letting it fly freely and feeding it at a hack board or a hack house.
Idioms
6.
at hack, Falconry. (of a young hawk) being trained to fly freely but to return to a hack house or hack board for food rather than to pursue quarry.
Origin
1565-75; variant of hatch2
British Dictionary definitions for hack

hack1

/hæk/
verb
1.
when intr, usually foll by at or away. to cut or chop (at) irregularly, roughly, or violently
2.
to cut and clear (a way, path, etc), as through undergrowth
3.
(in sport, esp rugby) to foul (an opposing player) by kicking or striking his shins
4.
(basketball) to commit the foul of striking (an opposing player) on the arm
5.
(intransitive) to cough in short dry spasmodic bursts
6.
(transitive) to reduce or cut (a story, article, etc) in a damaging way
7.
to manipulate a computer program skilfully, esp, to gain unauthorized access to another computer system
8.
(transitive) (slang) to tolerate; cope with: I joined the army but I couldn't hack it
9.
hack to bits, to damage severely: his reputation was hacked to bits
noun
10.
a cut, chop, notch, or gash, esp as made by a knife or axe
11.
any tool used for shallow digging, such as a mattock or pick
12.
a chopping blow
13.
a dry spasmodic cough
14.
a kick on the shins, as in rugby
15.
a wound from a sharp kick
See also hack off
Word Origin
Old English haccian; related to Old Frisian hackia, Middle High German hacken

hack2

/hæk/
noun
1.
a horse kept for riding or (more rarely) for driving
2.
an old, ill-bred, or overworked horse
3.
a horse kept for hire
4.
(Brit) a country ride on horseback
5.
a drudge
6.
a person who produces mediocre literary or journalistic work
7.
(US) Also called hackney. a coach or carriage that is for hire
8.
(US, informal) Also called hackie
  1. a cab driver
  2. a taxi
verb
9.
(Brit) to ride (a horse) cross-country for pleasure
10.
(transitive) to let (a horse) out for hire
11.
(transitive) (informal) to write (an article) as or in the manner of a hack
12.
(intransitive) (US, informal) to drive a taxi
adjective
13.
(prenominal) banal, mediocre, or unoriginal: hack writing
Word Origin
C17: short for hackney

hack3

/hæk/
noun
1.
a rack used for fodder for livestock
2.
a board on which meat is placed for a hawk
3.
a pile or row of unfired bricks stacked to dry
verb (transitive)
4.
to place (fodder) in a hack
5.
to place (bricks) in a hack
Word Origin
C16: variant of hatch²
Word Origin and History for hack
v.

"to cut roughly, cut with chopping blows," c.1200, from verb found in stem of Old English tohaccian "hack to pieces," from West Germanic *hakkon (cf. Old Frisian hackia "to chop or hack," Dutch hakken, Old High German hacchon, German hacken), from PIE *keg- "hook, tooth." Perhaps influenced by Old Norse höggva "to hack, hew" (cf. hacksaw). Slang sense of "cope with" (such as in can't hack it) is first recorded in American English 1955, with a sense of "get through by some effort," as a jungle (cf. phrase hack after "keep working away at" attested from late 14c.). Related: Hacked; hacking.

"illegally enter a computer system," by 1984; apparently a back-formation from hacker. Related: Hacked; hacking. Earlier verb senses were "to make commonplace" (1745), "make common by everyday use" (1590s), "use (a horse) for ordinary riding" (1560s), all from hack (n.2).

"to cough with a short, dry cough," 1802, perhaps from hack (v.1) on the notion of being done with difficulty, or else imitative.

n.

"tool for chopping," early 14c., from hack (v.1); cf. Danish hakke "mattock," German Hacke "pickax, hatchet, hoe." Meaning "an act of cutting" is from 1836; figurative sense of "a try, an attempt" is first attested 1898.

"person hired to do routine work," c.1700, ultimately short for hackney "an ordinary horse" (c.1300), probably from place name Hackney, Middlesex (q.v.). Apparently nags were raised on the pastureland there in early medieval times. Extended sense of "horse for hire" (late 14c.) led naturally to "broken-down nag," and also "prostitute" (1570s) and "drudge" (1540s). Sense of "carriage for hire" (1704) led to modern slang for "taxicab." As an adjective, 1734, from the noun. Hack writer is first recorded 1826, though hackney writer is at least 50 years earlier. Hack-work is recorded from 1851.

Slang definitions & phrases for hack

hack 1

noun
  1. A taxicab (1704+)
  2. A bus (1950s+ Bus drivers)
verb

To drive a taxi or bus: I worked in an office for years. Then I took to ''hacking'' (1931+)

[ultimately fr hackney, ''horse,'' fr Hackney, a village incorporated into London, fr Old English ''Haca's island'' or ''hook island''; presumably the horses were associated with the place]


hack 2

noun
  1. A persistent, often nervous, cough: oughta see someone about that hack (1885+)
  2. A try; attempt; whack: Let George take a hack at it (1836+)
  3. A mediocre performer or worker; tiresome drudge: They are not the hacks that Eric's scholarship would make them (1700+)
  4. (also hack writer) A professional, usually freelance, writer who works to order •This sense belongs to hack reflecting the notion that such a writer was for hire like a horse, but its own derivatives blend with those of the meaning ''try, stroke, etc'' (1810+)
  5. A computer program, esp a good one: A well-crafted program, a good hack, is elegant (1980s+ Computer)
  6. A guard: The guards, the hacks, as they called them/ The hacks didn't worry about the old convicts too much (1940s+ Prison)
  7. A white person; honky, ofay (1940s+ Black & prison)
verb
  1. : If you quit smoking maybe you won't hack like that
  2. To cope with, esp successfully; manage; handle •Most often in the negative: ''I can't hack this,'' Sandy remarked/ I couldn't hack the lines, so I used Mother Nature's privy (1940s+)
  3. (also hack at) To attempt; do persistently but mediocrely: Do I play tennis? Well, I hack at it (1940s+)
  4. : They hacked for some of our most respected leaders (1813+)
  5. To work with a computer or computer program, esp to do so cleverly, persistently, and enthusiastically •This term has many specialized senses in computer slang (1980s+)
  6. To annoy; anger; burn: That attitude really hacks me (1892+)

[nearly all senses ultimately fr hack, ''cut, chop''; black and prison senses fr identification of prison guards with white persons in the pattern identical with that of the man; prison guards perhaps so called because they sometimes beat prisoners]


hack

verb

To gain unauthorized access to a computer system: hack into my site (1985+)


hack in Technology

jargon
1. Originally, a quick job that produces what is needed, but not well.
2. An incredibly good, and perhaps very time-consuming, piece of work that produces exactly what is needed.
3. To bear emotionally or physically. "I can't hack this heat!"
4. To work on something (typically a program). In an immediate sense: "What are you doing?" "I'm hacking TECO." In a general (time-extended) sense: "What do you do around here?" "I hack TECO." More generally, "I hack "foo"" is roughly equivalent to ""foo" is my major interest (or project)". "I hack solid-state physics." See Hacking X for Y.
5. To pull a prank on. See hacker.
6. To interact with a computer in a playful and exploratory rather than goal-directed way. "Whatcha up to?" "Oh, just hacking."
7. Short for hacker.
8. See nethack.
9. (MIT) To explore the basements, roof ledges, and steam tunnels of a large, institutional building, to the dismay of Physical Plant workers and (since this is usually performed at educational institutions) the Campus Police. This activity has been found to be eerily similar to playing adventure games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Zork. See also vadding.
See also neat hack, real hack.
[Jargon File]
(1996-08-26)