hacker
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hacker¹
- /hækə/ UK
- /hækəɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ækə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Late Middle English hackere, hakker, hakkere (“one who cuts wood, woodchopper, woodcutter; (rare) tool for cutting wood”), from hakken, hacke (“to cut (something) with a chopping action, hack; to make a chopping action”) + -er(e) (suffix forming agent nouns). Hakken is derived from Old English *haccian (“to hack”), from Proto-West Germanic *hakkōn (“to chop, hack”), from Proto-Germanic *hakkōną (“to chop, hack”), from Proto-Indo-European *keg-, *keng- (“to be sharp; a handle; a hook; a peg”). The English word may be analysed as hack (“to chop or cut down in a rough manner”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).
noun hackers
- Someone who hacks. A hacker hacked into his computer account yesterday.
- One who cuts with heavy or rough blows. [O]ne good hacker, being a luſty labourer, vvill at good eaſe hacke or cut more then halfe an Acre of ground in a day; […]
- One who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity, especially (sports, originally and chiefly golf), a sport such as golf or tennis. a tennis hacker
- One who is expert at programming and solving problems with a computer. The Electrical Engineering Department, J. McKenzie in particular, for allowing me to use the PDP-1 computer to do the extensive computations, draw graphs, and even type this thesis. In this connection Charles Landau did some of the programming, Luella Thompson did most of the typing, and W. B. Acker
- One who applies a novel method, shortcut, skill, or trick to something to increase ease, efficiency, or productivity. food hacker
- One who uses a computer to gain unauthorized access to data stored in, or to carry out malicious attacks on, computer networks or computer systems. a phone hacker
-
Synonym of hackster (“a violent bully or ruffian; also, an assassin, a murderer”).
Similar: hackster
- Something that hacks; a device or tool for hacking; specifically, an axe used for cutting tree branches or wood. Thomas Limbrick, who was only nine years of age, said he lived with his mother when Deborah was beat: that his mother throwed her down all along with her hands; and then against a wall, and kicked her in the belly: that afterwards she picked her up, and beat her with the hacker on the side of the he
- A fork-shaped tool used to harvest root vegetables. The upper half of each swede-turnip had been eaten off by the live-stock, and it was the business of the two women to grab up the lower or earthy half of the root with a hooked fork called a hacker, that it might be eaten also.
hacker²
- /hækə/ UK
- /hækəɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ækə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Possibly from hack(ney cab) (“carriage pulled by a hackney horse, or motorized vehicle, available for public hire”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).
noun hackers
-
One who operates a taxicab; a cabdriver.
Start runnin' for a streetcar and they open up with machine guns and bump two pedestrians, a hacker asleep in his cab, and an old scrubwoman on the second floor workin' a mop. And they miss the guy they're after.
Similar: cabbie, cabman, taxi driver
hacker³
- /hækə/ UK
- /hækəɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ækə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From hack (“(obsolete) to confuse or mangle (words) when speaking”) + -er (suffix forming frequentative verbs).
verb hackers · hackering · hackered
- To speak with a spasmodic repetition of vocal sounds; to stammer, to stutter; also, to mumble and procrastinate in one's speech; to hem and haw. The interrupting of the Miniſter by the Clark, and the vvhole congregation, vvhen he readeth the Pſalms, by taking every other verſe out of his mouth, vvith an hackering confuſed noiſe, eſpecially in countrey Churches, vvhere the people cannot read vvell.
Hacker⁴
Where it comes from
English, Dutch, German and Jewish occupational surname, all from the noun hacker (“one who hacks”). The Jewish form probably arrives via Yiddish העקער (heker), from צעהאַקן (tsehakn) (see German hacken).
proper noun Hackers
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: drudge, hack, cyber, tech, infiltrator, tenant, intrusion, pirate, intruder, attacker, hacking, bogey, addict, cracker, pirating, hackster
Translations
Every language
noun one who is expert at programming and solving problems with a computer
| Italiano | smanettone |
|---|---|
| Русский | ха́кер xáker, компью́терщик kompʹjúterščik, компью́терщица kompʹjúterščica, программи́ст programmíst, программи́стка programmístka |
noun one who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity
| Italiano | principiante |
|---|
noun one who uses a computer to gain unauthorized access to data stored in, or to carry out malicious attacks on, computer networks or computer systems
| Español | hácker, hacker, jáquer, pirata informático, jacker, cacharrero |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 해커 haekeo |
| 日本語 | ハッカー hakkā |
| 中文 | 黑客 hēikè |
| हिन्दी | हैकर haikar |
| Kiswahili | mdukuzi |
| Português | hacker |
| Français | hacker, hackeur, hackeuse, fouineur, fouineuse, pirate |
| Deutsch | Hacker, Hackerin |
| Italiano | pirata informatico, pirata informatica |
| Ελληνικά | χάκερ cháker |
| Română | hacker |
| Русский | ха́кер xáker, взло́мщик vzlómščik |
| Tiếng Việt | hacker, tin tặc |
| العربية | هَاكِر hākir, مُخْتَرِق muḵtariq, قُرْصَان qurṣān |
| עברית | האקר haker, קראקר kraker |
Talk about this word "hacker." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hacker. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hacker. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hacker "hacker." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hacker.Cite this
@misc{hacker_2026,
title = {hacker},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hacker},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
