American Heritage Dictionary Entry: hack HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com hack 1 (hăk) Share: Tweet v. hacked, hack·ing, hacks v.tr. 1. To cut or chop with repeated and irregular blows: hacked down the saplings. 2. To make or shape by hitting or chopping with a sharp implement: hacked a trail through the forest. 3. To break up the surface of (soil). 4. a. To alter (a computer program): hacked her text editor to read HTML. b. To gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization: hacked the firm's personnel database. 5. Slang To cut or mutilate as if by hacking: hacked millions off the budget. 6. Slang To cope with successfully; manage: couldn't hack a second job. v.intr. 1. To chop or cut something by hacking. 2. a. To write or refine computer programs skillfully. b. To use one's skill in computer programming to gain illegal or unauthorized access to a file or network: hacked into the company's intranet. 3. To cough roughly or harshly. n. 1. A rough, irregular cut made by hacking. 2. A tool, such as a hoe, used for hacking. 3. A blow made by hacking. 4. An attempt to hit a baseball; a swing of the bat. 5. a. An instance of gaining unauthorized access to a computer file or network. b. A program that makes use of existing often proprietary software, adding new features to it. c. A clever modification or improvement. 6. A rough, dry cough. [Middle English hakken, from Old English -haccian; see keg- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots. V., intr., sense 2, back-formation from HACKER1.] hacka·ble adj. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. hack 2 (hăk) Share: Tweet n. 1. A horse used for riding or driving; a hackney. 2. A worn-out horse for hire; a jade. 3. a. One who undertakes unpleasant or distasteful tasks for money or reward; a hireling. b. A writer hired to produce routine or commercial writing. 4. A carriage or hackney for hire. 5. Informal a. A taxicab. b. See hackie. v. hacked, hack·ing, hacks v.tr. 1. To let out (a horse) for hire. 2. To make banal or hackneyed with indiscriminate use. v.intr. 1. To drive a taxicab for a living. 2. To work for hire as a writer. 3. To ride on horseback at an ordinary pace. adj. 1. By, characteristic of, or designating routine or commercial writing: hack prose. 2. Hackneyed; banal.Phrasal Verb: hack out Informal To produce (written material, for example), especially hastily or routinely: hacked out a weekly column. [Short for HACKNEY.] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. 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