hacker

American  

[hak-er] / ˈhæk ər /

noun

• hackers
  plural

1. a person or thing that hacks.

2. Slang. a person who engages in an activity without talent or skill.

   weekend hackers on the golf course.

3. Computers.

   1. a person who has a high level of skill in computer technology or programming; a computer expert or enthusiast.

      My brother is a real hacker—he fixed my laptop in no time.

   2. a person who circumvents security and breaks into a network, computer, file, etc., often, but not always, with malicious intent.

      A hacker got into my computer remotely and wiped my hard drive!

      The company has hired hackers to test system security.

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hacker British  

/ ˈhækə /

noun

1. a person that hacks

2. slang a computer fanatic, esp one who through a personal computer breaks into the computer system of a company, government, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hackers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hacker

First recorded in 1200–50 hacker for def. 1; Middle English (as surname); see hack ¹, -er ¹; 1965–70 hacker for def. 2

Explanation

A hacker is a skilled computer programmer who uses her abilities to break into the computer systems of companies or organizations. While most people imagine a hacker as a bad guy who steals credit card information, destroys data, or is otherwise malicious and destructive, some hackers break into systems simply to test their security. There are so many hackers today that they've formed a true community and subculture. The earliest use of hacker is from 1983, from hack as "person hired to do routine work," although MIT students in the 1960's reportedly used the word hack to mean "creative prank."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hacker hackers

Our water system’s decentralized, fragmented nature, perhaps a bit like our electoral system, is a double-edged sword, inasmuch as its vulnerabilities are atomized—at least a single hacker can’t contaminate all the water in the country.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

An employee at defense contractor IEH Corp. was taken in by a hacker posing as a business prospect, the company said Thursday in a filing with the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Both OpenAI, the hacker, and the victim, Hugging Face, have portrayed the response to this incident as a collaboration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Commentators and analysts took to their podcasts and social media accounts to guess which cyber crime group or nation state hacker might be behind it.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Well, that, and also because it was completely awesome, with an old-school teenage computer hacker as the protagonist.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Rockstar Games, which is renowned for its secrecy over its products, has faced enormous scrutiny from fans, investors, competitors and hackers ahead of the latest release.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Apple TV’s “Neuromancer” examines artificial intelligence, hackers and corporate power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Document storage company Dropbox is informing customers that about 5,000 accounts associated with laptop maker Lenovo were compromised by hackers between Aug. 4 and Aug. 21.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Mythos, developed by Anthropic, was said by the firm to be able to find weaknesses in systems in seconds which have long evaded human hackers.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

It was possible for hackers to use modded visors to spoof their retinal patterns and thus create a second account for themselves.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Related Words

• operator
• technician