I. ˈhak verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English hakken, from Old English -haccian (attested in tōhaccian to chop to pieces); akin to Middle Low German hacken to hack, Old High German hacchōn, Old English haca door fastener, Old Norse haka chin — more at hook
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cut with repeated irregular or unskillful blows
was hacked to pieces with swords
plaster had been hacked out of the wall
b. : to sever with repeated blows
hacked off a bough with his hunting knife
c. : to mangle or mutilate with or as if with cutting blows
we hacked reputations to pieces — H.J.Laski
the original story had been hacked almost beyond recognition
d. : to trim or shape by or as if by crude or ruthless strokes
lyrical expressions hacked out with broad strokes of a brush charged with pure color — F.J.Mather
huge sums were hacked off the original appropriation
2. : to clear (a path or area) by cutting away vegetation
hacked their way through the jungle
farms hacked out of the wilderness
3.
a. : to break up the surface of (land)
b. : to break up the soil and sow (seed) at the same operation — used with in
hack in wheat
c. : to cut, trim, or uproot with a hack, hook, or sickle
4. : chip vt 4
5.
a. : to roughen or dress (stone or concrete) with a hack hammer
b. : to tilt (a face brick) slightly in a wall so that the bottom is set in to prevent shadows
c. : to interrupt (a course of stones) by the use of two smaller courses in walling
6. : to kick the shins of (an opposing player) in rugby
7. chiefly Midland
a. : achieve , manage
I can't quite hack it
b. : to put up with : tolerate
I can't hack something like stealing — B.J.Friedman
8. : to call out or give directions to (a bird dog)
9. : to enter (a gamecock) in a single match
10. chiefly Midland : to disconcert and embarrass especially by teasing : heckle
he was so hacked he could hardly talk
intransitive verb
1. : to make cutting blows or rough cuts : chop
hacking away at the vines and shrubs
2. now dialect England : to speak haltingly : stammer
3. : to cough in a short dry manner : cause short dry coughing
a hacking asthma
4.
a. : to kick or kick at a rugby opponent's shins deliberately
b. : to strike or hold the arm of a basketball opponent with the hand
5. slang : loaf , idle , knock — used with around
hacking around at the corner drugstore — Ruth McKenney
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hak; akin to Middle High German & Middle Dutch hacke mattock, hoe, pickax; derivatives from the root of English hack (I)
1. : a tool or implement for hacking (as a pick, mattock, or hoe)
2. : cut , nick , notch ; especially : a blaze cut in a tree
3. now dialect England : a stumbling or stammering in speech
4. : a short dry cough
5.
a. : a hacking blow
a vicious hack across the neck stunned him
b. : try , attempt , turn , whack
let me take a hack at it
c. : an individual match of gamecocks
6. : a kick on the shins in rugby
7. : a foothold cut in the ice four yards behind the tee in curling
8.
a. chiefly Midland : a state of embarrassed confusion — often used with under
he put Joe under hack teasing him about his girl
b. : restriction to quarters as punishment for naval officers — usually used with under
he had some of the officers under hack and some of the crew grumbling — Fletcher Pratt
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: blend of hatch (I) and heck (I)
1.
a. : the board on which a falcon's meat is served
b. : the state of partial liberty in which a falcon is kept before training — used chiefly with at
kept at hack
flying at hack
2. : frame , grating : as
a. : a frame for drying fish or cheese
b. : a rack for feeding cattle
c. : a grating in a millrace or above a dam
3. : a long low pile into which bricks are built for drying after being molded
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to keep (a hawk) in a state of partial liberty
2. : to put (fish or cheese) on a frame for drying
V. noun
( -s )
Etymology: short for hackney
1.
a.
(1) : a horse let out for common hire
(2) : a horse used in all kinds of work
b. : a horse worn out in service : jade
c. : a light easy saddle horse ; especially : a three-gaited saddle horse
2.
a. : a coach or carriage let for hire : hackney
on horse, on foot, in hacks and gilded chariots — Alexander Pope
b. slang : hearse
c.
(1) : taxicab
(2) : cabdriver
d. slang : caboose
3.
a. : one who hires out his professional service : one who forfeits individual freedom of action or initiative or professional integrity in exchange for wages or other assured reward : hireling , mercenary
party hacks have replaced earnest New Dealers — New Republic
especially : a writer who works on order from publishers
b. : a writer whose writings aim mainly at commercial success rather than literary quality
c. slang : a prison guard or custodian
4. : a watch or inferior chronometer for use in place of the standard chronometer in marking time when taking observations at sea
VI. adjective
1. : working for hire
hack attorney
hack critic
2. : performed by, suited to, or characteristic of a hack : mediocre , uninspired
hack writing
the staging and lighting were mostly on a hack level — New Republic
3. : hackneyed , trite
hack dramatic scenes
VII. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to make trite and commonplace by frequent and indiscriminate use
the word “remarkable” has been so hacked — J.H.Newman
2. archaic : to employ as a hack writer
3. : to use as a hack : let out (as a horse) for hire
intransitive verb
1. : to ride or drive at an ordinary pace or over the roads as distinguished from racing or riding across country
2. : to become exposed or offered to common use for hire
was then hacked in the park for a year before going to stud — Dennis Craig
3. : to live the life of a literary drudge or hack : do hack writing
4. : to ride in a hackney coach or in a taxicab
5. : to operate a taxicab
VIII. intransitive verb
Etymology: hack (I)
1. : to write computer programs for enjoyment
2. : to gain access illegally to a computer or the data stored on it
IX. noun
Etymology: hack (V)
: amateur 3b
a field dominated by hacks , frauds and vulgarians — William Grimes