hack it

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

hack¹ /hæk/   v. 

1. to cut, slice, chop, or sever with irregular blows: [~ (+ away) + at + object]
   The rescue workers hacked away at the rubble all night.
   [~ + down + object]
   The timbermen hacked down the trees.
   [~ + object]
   hacked the timber to pieces.
2. to clear by cutting away vines, trees, or other growth:
   [~ + object + through + object] hacked their way through the dense jungle.
   [ ~ + through + obj]:
   hacked through the jungle.
3. to cut severely;
   trim:
   [~ + object] to hack a budget.
4. Slang Terms to cope with;
   tolerate:
   [~ + object] I can't hack all this commuting.
5. [no object] to cough in a short, raspy manner.

n. [countable]

6. an act of cutting;
   cut, gash, or notch.
7. Pathology a short, rasping dry cough.

Idioms

8. Idioms hack it, [Slang.] to deal with something successfully:
   can't hack it as an executive.

hack² /hæk/   n. [countable]

1. a hireling:
   a political hack.
2. a person, esp. a writer, who produces mediocre work.
3. an old or worn-out horse.
4. Informal Terms
   • a taxicab.
   • a cabdriver.

v. [no object]

5. Informal Terms to drive a taxi:
   found a job hacking.

adj. [before a noun]

6. working as a hack:
   a hack writer.
7. suitable to or typical of a hack:
   hack work.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

hack¹  (hak), v.t. 

1. to cut, notch, slice, chop, or sever (something) with or as with heavy, irregular blows (often fol. by up or down):
   to hack meat; to hack down trees.
2. to break up the surface of (the ground).
3. to clear (a road, path, etc.) by cutting away vines, trees, brush, or the like:
   They hacked a trail through the jungle.
4. to damage or injure by crude, harsh, or insensitive treatment;
   mutilate;
   mangle:
   The editor hacked the story to bits.
5. to reduce or cut ruthlessly;
   trim:
   The Senate
   hacked the budget severely before returning it to the House.
6. Slang Terms to deal or cope with;
   handle:
   He can't hack all this commuting.
7. Computing to devise or modify (a computer program), usually skillfully.
8. Sport [Basketball.] to strike the arm of (an opposing ball handler):
   He got a penalty for hacking the shooter.
9. [Brit.] to kick or kick at the shins of (an opposing player) in Rugby football.
10. Dialect Terms [South Midland and Southern U.S.] to embarrass, annoy, or disconcert.

v.i. 

11. to make rough cuts or notches;
    deal cutting blows.
12. to cough harshly, usually in short and repeated spasms.
13. Sport [Tennis.]
    • to take a poor, ineffective, or awkward swing at the ball.
    • to play tennis at a mediocre level.
14. [Brit.] to kick or kick at an opponent's shins in Rugby football.
15. hack around, [Slang.] to pass the time idly;
    indulge in idle talk.
16. hack it, [Slang.] to handle or cope with a situation or an assignment adequately and calmly:
    The new recruit just can't hack it.

n. 

17. a cut, gash, or notch.
18. Building a tool, as an ax, hoe, or pick, for hacking.
19. an act or instance of hacking;
    a cutting blow.
20. Pathology a short, rasping dry cough.
21. a hesitation in speech.
22. Sport [Curling.] an indentation made in the ice at the foot score, for supporting the foot in delivering the stone.
23. [Brit.] a gash in the skin produced by a kick, as in Rugby football.

• 1150–1200; Middle English hacken; compare Old English tōhaccian to hack to pieces; cognate with Dutch hakken, German hacken

Synonyms

• 1. mangle, haggle. See cut. 

hack²  (hak), n. 

1. a person, as an artist or writer, who exploits, for money, his or her creative ability or training in the production of dull, unimaginative, and trite work;
   one who produces banal and mediocre work in the hope of gaining commercial success in the arts:
   As a painter, he was little more than a hack.
2. a professional who renounces or surrenders individual independence, integrity, belief, etc., in return for money or other reward in the performance of a task normally thought of as involving a strong personal commitment:
   a political hack.
3. a writer who works on the staff of a publisher at a dull or routine task;
   someone who works as a literary drudge:
   He was one among the many hacks on Grub Street.
4. [Brit.]
   • a horse kept for common hire or adapted for general work, esp. ordinary riding.
   • a saddle horse used for transportation, rather than for show, hunting, or the like.
5. an old or worn-out horse;
   jade.
6. a coach or carriage kept for hire;
   hackney.
7. [Informal.]
   • a taxi.
   • Also, hackie. a cabdriver.
8. Slang Terms a prison guard.

v.t. 

9. to make a hack of;
   let out for hire.
10. to make trite or stale by frequent use;
    hackney.

v.i. 

11. [Informal.] to drive a taxi.
12. to ride or drive on the road at an ordinary pace, as distinguished from cross-country riding or racing.
13. [Brit.] to rent a horse, esp. by the hour.

adj. 

14. hired as a hack;
    of a hired sort:
    a hack writer; hack work.
15. hackneyed;
    trite;
    banal:
    hack writing.

• short for hackney 1680–90

Synonyms

• 2. mercenary.
• 3. scribbler.
• 9. lease, rent.

hack³  (hak), n. 

1. a rack for drying food, as fish.
2. Agriculture a rack for holding fodder for livestock.
3. Building a low pile of unburnt bricks in the course of drying.
4. at hack, [Falconry.] (of a young hawk) being trained to fly freely but to return to a hack house or hack board for food rather than to pursue quarry.

v.t. 

5. Agriculture to place (something) on a hack, as for drying or feeding.
6. Sport [Falconry.] to train (a young hawk) by letting it fly freely and feeding it at a hack board or a hack house.

• variant of hatch² 1565–75