hack
Other forms: hacked; hacking; hacks
To hack is to cut or chop something with short strong blows, like if you hack your way through a thick jungle with a machete. To hack is also to illegally break into someone’s computer.
The Old English root word is haccian, which means “to cut into pieces,” but hack also means to cough frequently. A tickle in your throat can make you hack. If you call someone a hack, you mean they’re not great at what they do — especially writing. A mediocre writer is called a hack. Once upon a time hack was short for “an ordinary horse,” and now it’s an insult for writers. No one wants to be a hack!
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cut away“he hacked his way through the forest”type of:cutseparate with or as if with an instrument
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cut with a hacking tool
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a tool (as a hoe or pick or mattock) used for breaking up the surface of the soiltype of:toolan implement used in the practice of a vocation
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fix a computer program piecemeal until it works
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significantly cut up a manuscript
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cough spasmodically
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be able to manage or manage successfully
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kick on the shinstype of:foulcommit a foul; break the rules
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kick on the armstype of:foulcommit a foul; break the rules
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one who works hard at boring tasks
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a politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public endssynonyms: machine politician, political hack, ward-heeler
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a mediocre and disdained writersynonyms: hack writer, literary hack
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a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money
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a horse kept for hire
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a saddle horse used for transportation rather than sport etc.
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an old or over-worked horse
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Vocabulary lists containing hack
When the Watson family pays Grandma a visit in Alabama, they find themselves caught up in the battle for civil rights.
In preparation for the AP English Literature and Composition exam, learn the vocabulary from these metaphors -- taken from popular AP novels. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared (NOT using "like" or "as").
This American classic chronicles the exploits of Huck and Jim: one is running away from an abusive father and the other is fleeing enslavement. Read the full text here.