hack

1. To chop or cut down in a rough manner. (transitive) · They hacked the brush down and made their way through the jungle.
2. To withstand or put up with a difficult situation. · Can you hack it out here with no electricity or running water?
3. To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that, while being effective, is inelegant or makes the program harder to maintain. · I hacked in a fix for this bug, but we'll still have to do a real fix later.
4. To accomplish a difficult programming task. · He can hack like no one else and make the program work as expected.
5. To work with something on an intimately technical level. (slang, transitive) · I'm currently hacking distributed garbage collection.
6. To apply a trick, shortcut, skill, or novel method to something to increase productivity, efficiency or ease. (colloquial, transitive) · I read up on dating tips so I can hack my sex life.
7. To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code. (slang, transitive)
8. To gain unauthorized access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation). (slang, transitive) · When I logged in to the social network, I discovered I'd been hacked.

He/she/it hacks · Past hacked · Past participle hacked · -ing form hacking