cyberpunk

noun

cy·​ber·​punk ˈsī-bər-ˌpəŋk 

1

: science fiction dealing with future urban societies dominated by computer technology

2

: an opportunistic computer hacker

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Cyberpunk and Literature

In science fiction circles, "cyberpunk" is a genre that often features countercultural antiheroes trapped in a dehumanizing high-tech future. Its roots extend back to the technical fiction of the 1940s and '50s, but it was years before it matured. The word cyberpunk was coined by writer Bruce Bethke, who wrote a story with that title in 1980. He created the term by combining "cybernetics," the science of replacing human functions with computerized ones, and "punk," the raucous music and nihilistic sensibility that became a youth culture in the 1970s and '80s. Not until the 1984 publication of William Gibson's novel, Neuromancer, however, did "cyberpunk" really take off as a term or a genre.

Synonyms

• cracker
• hacker

Examples of cyberpunk in a Sentence

the bank had to overhaul its online banking system after a cyberpunk broke into the accounts of thousands of customers

Recent Examples on the Web

But with an arpeggiated, choppy set of bangs, there’s also a hint of 90s cyberpunk to the style. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 5 Dec. 2024

But even as the clock winds back to 1941, McAnuff and his designers keep a heavy whiff of cyberpunk in the air. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Mar. 2024

For the next few years, Marlinspike settled into a Bay Area scene that was, if not cyberpunk, at least punk. —Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 31 July 2016

This week’s picks include a Korean cyberpunk novel, a story collection set in Rome and the true story of a rowboat race across the Atlantic. —Shreya Chattopadhyay, New York Times, 5 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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