English▸ verb
1 [with object] cut with rough or heavy blows:
hack off the dead branches
[no object] a fishmonger hacked at it with a cleaver.
2 [no object] use a computer to gain unauthorized access to data in a system:
they hacked into the bank's computer
[with object] someone hacked his computer from another location.
3 [usually with negative] (hack it) informal manage; cope:
lots of people leave because they can't hack it.
▸ noun
1 a rough cut, blow, or stroke:
he was sure one of us was going to take a hack at him.
▪ (in sports) a kick or hit inflicted on another player.
▪ a tool for rough striking or cutting, e.g. a mattock or a miner's pick.
▪ archaic a cut or gash.
2 informal an act of computer hacking:
the challenge of the hack itself.
▪ a piece of computer code providing a quick or inelegant solution to a particular problem:
this hack doesn't work on machines that have a firewall.
▪ a strategy or technique for managing one's time or activities more efficiently:
there's one easy hack to avoid the eight dollar popcorn trap: eat before you get to the theater.
– PHRASAL VERBS
hack around North American informal
pass one's time idly or with no definite purpose:
annoy or infuriate someone:
hack around North American informal
pass one's time idly or with no definite purpose:
she hacked around with neighborhood buddies.
hack off (hack someone off, hack off someone) informal annoy or infuriate someone:
it really hacks me off when they whine about what a poor job we're doing.
– ORIGIN Old English haccian ‘cut in pieces’, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch hakken and German hacken.