hack

[[t]hæ̱k[/t]]

hacks, hacking, hacked

1) VERB If you hack something or hack at it, you cut it with strong, rough strokes using a sharp tool such as an axe or knife.

[V n] An armed gang barged onto the train and began hacking and shooting anyone in sight...

[be V-ed prep/adv] Some were hacked to death with machetes...

[V prep] Matthew desperately hacked through the leather.

PHRASAL VERB

Hack away means the same as hack.

V P at n He started to hack away at the tree bark.

2) VERB If you hack your way through an area such as a jungle or hack a path through it, you move forward, cutting back the trees or plants that are in your way.

[V n prep/adv] We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle.

3) VERB If you hack at or hack something which is too large, too long, or too expensive, you reduce its size, length, or cost by cutting out or getting rid of large parts of it.

[V adv/prep] He hacked away at the story, throwing out much of the flashback material and eliminating one character entirely. [Also V n]

4) N-COUNT (disapproval) If you refer to a professional writer, such as a journalist, as a hack, you disapprove of them because they write for money without worrying very much about the quality of their writing.

...tabloid hacks, always eager to find victims in order to sell newspapers.

...a hack writer of cheap romances.

5) N-COUNT: oft supp N (disapproval) If you refer to a politician as a hack, you disapprove of them because they are too loyal to their party and perhaps do not deserve the position they have.

Far too many party hacks from the old days still hold influential jobs.

6) VERB If someone hacks into a computer system, they break into the system, especially in order to get secret information.

[V into n] The saboteurs had demanded money in return for revealing how they hacked into the systems.

Derived words:

hacking N-UNCOUNT

...the common and often illegal art of computer hacking.

7) VERB: oft cont If you hack or go hacking, you go out for a ride on horseback. [BRIT]

[V prep/adv] The children could be seen hacking across the hillside on their ponies.

Derived words:

hacking N-UNCOUNT

Hacking is a major activity in the horse world.

8) N-COUNT A hack is a ride on horseback. [BRIT]

9) N-COUNT A hack is a horse which people can hire from a stable to go out riding.

10) PHRASE If you say that someone can't hack it or couldn't hack it, you mean that they do not or did not have the qualities needed to do a task or cope with a situation. [INFORMAL]

You have to be strong and confident and never give the slightest impression that you can't hack it...

Smith tries to convince them that he can hack it as a police chief.

Syn:

not be up to it

11) → See also hacking

Phrasal Verbs:

- hack away

- hack off