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
Examples of hacker in a Sentence
My friends and I have been playing golf for years, but we're still just a bunch of hackers.
the company's security experts spent days trying to figure out how a hacker could have gotten past the firewall
Recent Examples on the Web
The takeaway from the technology perspective is that passkeys are all but impossible, although nothing is 100% secure, for hackers to guess or intercept.
—
Davey Winder, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
By exploiting the weakness in the identity product during the SolarWinds attack, the Russian hackers were able to swiftly vacuum up emails from victim networks.
—Renee Dudley, ProPublica, 17 Jan. 2025
The breach came to light when an anonymous hacker tipped off the Chaos Computer Club.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 13 Jan. 2025
While there are organizations working against common sense board reform on digital and cybersecurity governance, the hackers and boardroom leaders are winning and the status quo is losing — expensively.
—Bob Zukis, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hacker 
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Davey Winder, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
By exploiting the weakness in the identity product during the SolarWinds attack, the Russian hackers were able to swiftly vacuum up emails from victim networks.
—Renee Dudley, ProPublica, 17 Jan. 2025
The breach came to light when an anonymous hacker tipped off the Chaos Computer Club.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 13 Jan. 2025
While there are organizations working against common sense board reform on digital and cybersecurity governance, the hackers and boardroom leaders are winning and the status quo is losing — expensively.
—Bob Zukis, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hacker
Articles Related to hacker
Dictionary Entries Near hacker
Cite this Entry
“Hacker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hacker. Accessed 26 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hacker
noun
hack·er
ˈhak-ər 
1
: one that hacks
2
: a person who is unskilled at a particular activity
3
: an expert at programming and solving problems with a computer
4
: a person who illegally gains access to a computer system
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