hack

  1. Verb.  To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
  2. Verb.  To cough noisily.
  3. Verb.  To withstand or put up with a difficult situation.
  4. Verb.  (slang, computing) To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to a computer system (e.g. website) or network by manipulating code; a crack.
  5. Verb.  (computing) To accomplish a difficult programming task.
  6. Verb.  (computing) To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that is inelegant or that makes the program harder to maintain.
  7. Verb.  To work on an intimately technical level.
  8. Verb.  (ice hockey) To strike an opponent's leg with one's hockey stick.
  9. Verb.  (ice hockey) To make a flailing attempt to hit the puck with a hockey stick.
  10. Verb.  (baseball) To swing at a pitched ball.
  11. Verb.  To strike in a frantic movement.
  12. Noun.  A hacking blow.
  13. Noun.  A gouge or notch made by such a blow.
  14. Noun.  A dry cough.
  15. Noun.  (curling) The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.
  16. Noun.  (obsolete) A mattock or a miner's pick. .
  17. Noun.  (context, computing) An illegal attempt to gain access to a computer network.
  18. Noun.  (computing) An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming.
  19. Noun.  (computing) A small code change meant to patch a problem as quickly as possible.
  20. Noun.  (computing) An expedient, temporary solution, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date.
  21. Noun.  (slang, military) Time check.
  22. Noun.  (baseball) A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter.
  23. Noun.  (slang) a newspaper columnist or writer (newspaper hack).
  24. Noun.  (slang) a cabbie.
  25. Noun.  (context, falconry) A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.
  26. Noun.  A food-rack for cattle.
  27. Noun.  A rack used to dry bricks.
  28. Verb.  To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.
  29. Verb.  (context, falconry) To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained.
  30. Noun.  (obsolete) An ordinary horse, especially an old, tired one.
  31. Noun.  (slang) A taxicab (hackney cab) driver.
  32. Noun.  (pejorative) One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.).
  33. Noun.  (pejorative) A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language.
  34. Noun.  (pejorative) Someone who is available for hire; hireling, mercenary.
  35. Noun.  (pejorative) An untalented writer.
  36. Noun.  (politics) A political agitator. (slightly derogatory) .
  37. Verb.  (dated) To make common or cliched; to vulgarise.
  38. Verb.  To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.).
  39. Noun.  A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for the use in hackeysack.
  40. Verb.  To play hackeysack.

This is an unmodified, but possibly outdated, definition from Wiktionary and used here under the Creative Commons license. Wiktionary is a great resource. If you like it too, please donate to Wikimedia.

This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.