black hat
[ blak-hat ]
/ ˈblæk ˈhæt /
noun Informal.
a villain, as in a cowboy movie; bad guy.
Also called black hat hack·er .Computers. a hacker who violates the security of a system without the knowledge or consent of the owner or developer, as for personal profit or for the gratification of causing damage.
QUIZZES
WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM
Think you know your presidents? Take this quiz and see if you can match the style, wit, and ideology of these memorable lines to the right POTUS.
Question 1 of 9
“I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right. I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
Idioms for black hat
wear / put on a black hat, to behave villainously.
Compare white hat.
Origin of black hat
First recorded in 1955–60 for def. 1, and in 1990–95 for def. 2; from the black hat worn by the villain in a cowboy movie
OTHER WORDS FROM black hat
black-hat, black-hat·ted, adjectiveWords nearby black hat
black gold, black grouse, blackguard, black guillemot, Black Hand, black hat, black haw, Black Hawk, Black Hawk War, blackhead, black-headed gull
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for black hat
black hat
noun
informal
- a computer hacker who carries out illegal malicious hacking work
- (as modifier)black-hat hackers Compare white hat
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012