/ hæk; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
[+ adv. / prep. ] to cut sb/sth with rough, heavy blows :
[ vn ]
I hacked the dead branches off.
They were hacked to death as they tried to escape.
We had to hack our way through the jungle.
[ v ]
We hacked away at the bushes.
2.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to kick sth roughly or without control :
He hacked the ball away.
3.
( computing ) hack (into) (sth) to secretly find a way of looking at and/or changing information on sb else's computer system without permission :
[ v ]
He hacked into the bank's computer.
[ vn ]
They had hacked secret data.
4.
[ vn ] can / can't ~ it ( informal ) to be able / not able to manage in a particular situation :
Lots of people leave this job because they can't hack it.
5.
[ v ] (usually go hacking ) ( especially BrE ) to ride a horse for pleasure
6.
[ v ] ( NAmE , informal ) to drive a taxi
■ noun
1.
( disapproving ) a writer, especially of newspaper articles, who does a lot of low quality work and does not get paid much
2.
( disapproving ) a person who does the hard and often boring work for an organization, especially a politician :
a party hack
3.
a horse for ordinary riding or one that can be hired
4.
( NAmE , informal ) a taxi
5.
an act of hitting sth, especially with a cutting tool
••
WORD ORIGIN
verb senses 1 to 4 and noun sense 5 Old English haccian cut in pieces , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch hakken and German hacken .
verb senses 5 to 6 and noun senses 1 to 4 Middle English (in sense 3 of the noun): abbreviation of hackney horse or pony of a light breed . Sense 1 of the noun dates from the late 17th cent.