hacker

noun

hack·​er ˈha-kər 

1

: one that hacks

2

: a person who is inexperienced or unskilled at a particular activity

a tennis hacker

3

: an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer

4

: a person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system

Synonyms of hacker

• cracker
• cyberpunk
• geek

Examples of hacker in a Sentence

My friends and I have been playing golf for years, but we're still just a bunch of hackers.

the company's security experts spent days trying to figure out how a hacker could have gotten past the firewall

Recent Examples on the Web

As the ransomware industry evolves, experts are predicting hackers will only continue to find more and more ways of using the technology to exploit businesses and individuals. —Samantha Subin, CNBC, 13 May 2026

Thousands of universities and K-12 schools nationwide were impacted when hackers accessed Canvas, a popular learning platform owned by Instructure. —Jason Armesto, AJC.com, 11 May 2026

Those numbers come from the hackers' claims. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2026

Hot on the heels of the Copy Fail access vulnerability that had remained hidden for 9 years comes news that a new zero-day, with no patch available and granting hackers root, has been confirmed. —Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hacker

• acker
• backer
• blacker
• cracker
• lacquer
• packer
• slacker
• stacker
• thacker
• tracker
• attacker
• backpacker

Kids Definition

hacker

noun

hack·​er ˈhak-ər 

1

: one that hacks

2

: a person who is unskilled at a particular activity

3

: an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer

4

: a person who illegally gains access to a computer system