Definition Definition

hack - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'hack' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Hack [ a.]
- Hackneyed; hired; mercenary.
2 . Hack [ n.]
- A frame or grating of various kinds; as, a frame for drying bricks, fish, or cheese; a rack for feeding cattle; a grating in a mill race, etc.
- Unburned brick or tile, stacked up for drying.
- A notch; a cut.
- An implement for cutting a notch; a large pick used in breaking stone.
- A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.
- A kick on the shins.
- A horse, hackneyed or let out for common hire; also, a horse used in all kinds of work, or a saddle horse, as distinguished from hunting and carriage horses.
- A coach or carriage let for hire; particularly, a a coach with two seats inside facing each other; a hackney coach.
- A bookmaker who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.
- A procuress.
3 . Hack [ v. i.]
- To cough faintly and frequently, or in a short, broken manner; as, a hacking cough.
- To be exposed or offered or to common use for hire; to turn prostitute.
- To live the life of a drudge or hack.
4 . Hack [ v. t.]
- To cut irregulary, without skill or definite purpose; to notch; to mangle by repeated strokes of a cutting instrument; as, to hack a post.
- Fig.: To mangle in speaking.
- To use as a hack; to let out for hire.
- To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.

Meaning of 'hack' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . hack [ v]
Meaning (1):
- cut away
Example in sentence:
  • he hacked his way through the forest
Meaning (2):
- be able to manage or manage successfully
Example in sentence:
  • I can't hack it anymore;
  • she could not cut the long days in the office
Meaning (3):
- fix a computer program piecemeal until it works
Example in sentence:
  • I'm not very good at hacking but I'll give it my best
Meaning (4):
- cough spasmodically
Example in sentence:
  • The patient with emphysema is hacking all day