Adjacent Words

hacker definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: someone who plays golf poorly
2: a programmer who breaks into computer systems in order to steal or change or destroy information as a form of cyber- terrorism [syn: hacker, cyber-terrorist, cyberpunk]
3: a programmer for whom computing is its own reward; may enjoy the challenge of breaking into other computers but does no harm; "true hackers subscribe to a code of ethics and look down upon crackers"
4: one who works hard at boring tasks [syn: hack, drudge, hacker]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 14th century 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

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a person or thing that hacks or cuts roughly. 2 colloq. a person who uses computers for a hobby, esp. to gain unauthorized access to data.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hacker Hack"er, n. One who, or that which, hacks. Specifically: A cutting instrument for making notches; esp., one used for notching pine trees in collecting turpentine; a hack.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(hackers) 1. A computer hacker is someone who tries to break into computer systems, especially in order to get secret information. N-COUNT 2. A computer hacker is someone who uses a computer a lot, especially so much that they have no time to do anything else. N-COUNT