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.
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.
to cut severely; trim:[~ + object]to hack a budget.
Slang Termsto cope with; tolerate:[~ + object]I can't hack all this commuting.
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.
to break up the surface of (the ground).
to clear (a road, path, etc.) by cutting away vines, trees, brush, or the like:They hacked a trail through the jungle.
to damage or injure by crude, harsh, or insensitive treatment; mutilate; mangle:The editor hacked the story to bits.
to reduce or cut ruthlessly; trim:The Senatehacked the budget severely before returning it to the House.
Slang Termsto deal or cope with; handle:He can't hack all this commuting.
Computingto devise or modify (a computer program), usually skillfully.
Sport[Basketball.]to strike the arm of (an opposing ball handler):He got a penalty for hacking the shooter.
[Brit.]to kick or kick at the shins of (an opposing player) in Rugby football.
Dialect Terms[South Midland and Southern U.S.]to embarrass, annoy, or disconcert.
v.i.
to make rough cuts or notches; deal cutting blows.
to cough harshly, usually in short and repeated spasms.
Sport[Tennis.]
to take a poor, ineffective, or awkward swing at the ball.
to play tennis at a mediocre level.
[Brit.]to kick or kick at an opponent's shins in Rugby football.
hack around, [Slang.]to pass the time idly; indulge in idle talk.
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.
a cut, gash, or notch.
Buildinga tool, as an ax, hoe, or pick, for hacking.
an act or instance of hacking; a cutting blow.
Pathologya short, rasping dry cough.
a hesitation in speech.
Sport[Curling.]an indentation made in the ice at the foot score, for supporting the foot in delivering the stone.
[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
1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged mangle, haggle. See cut.
hack2(hak),USA pronunciationn.
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.
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.
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.
[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.
an old or worn-out horse; jade.
a coach or carriage kept for hire; hackney.
[Informal.]
a taxi.
Also, hackie.a cabdriver.
Slang Termsa prison guard.
v.t.
to make a hack of; let out for hire.
to make trite or stale by frequent use; hackney.
v.i.
[Informal.]to drive a taxi.
to ride or drive on the road at an ordinary pace, as distinguished from cross-country riding or racing.
[Brit.]to rent a horse, esp. by the hour.
adj.
hired as a hack; of a hired sort:a hack writer; hack work.
hackneyed; trite; banal:hack writing.
short for hackney 1680–90
2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged mercenary.
3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged scribbler.
9.See corresponding entry in Unabridged lease, rent.
hack3(hak),USA pronunciationn.
a rack for drying food, as fish.
Agriculturea rack for holding fodder for livestock.
Buildinga low pile of unburnt bricks in the course of drying.
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.
Agricultureto place (something) on a hack, as for drying or feeding.
Sport[Falconry.]to train (a young hawk) by letting it fly freely and feeding it at a hack board or a hack house.