hacks

1. A tool for chopping.
2. A hacking blow.
3. A gouge or notch made by such a blow.
4. A dry cough.
5. A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.
6. A try, an attempt.
7. The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.
8. A mattock or a miner's pickaxe.
9. An expedient, temporary solution, such as a small patch or change to code, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date.
10. An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming.
11. A trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase productivity, efficiency or ease.

    Putting your phone in a sandwich bag when you go to the beach is such a great hack.

12. An illegal attempt to gain access to a computer network.
13. A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state.
14. Time check.
15. A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter.

    He took a few hacks, but the pitcher finally struck him out.

16. A kick on the shins in football.
17. Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment.

1. To chop or cut down in a rough manner.

   They hacked the brush down and made their way through the jungle.

2. To cough noisily.

   This cold is awful. I can't stop hacking.

3. To withstand or put up with a difficult situation.

   Can you hack it out here with no electricity or running water?

4. To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that, while being effective, is inelegant or makes the program harder to maintain.

   I hacked in a fix for this bug, but we'll still have to do a real fix later.

5. To accomplish a difficult programming task.

   He can hack like no one else and make the program work as expected.

6. To work with something on an intimately technical level.

   I'm currently hacking distributed garbage collection.

7. (by extension) To apply a trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to something to increase productivity, efficiency or ease.

   I read up on dating tips so I can hack my sex life.

8. To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code.
9. (by extension) To gain unauthorised access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation).

   When I logged into the social network, I discovered I'd been hacked.

10. To strike an opponent's leg with one's hockey stick.

    He's going to the penalty box after hacking the defender in front of the goal.

11. To make a flailing attempt to hit the puck with a hockey stick.

    There's a scramble in front of the net as the forwards are hacking at the bouncing puck.

12. To swing at a pitched ball.

    He went to the batter's box hacking.

13. (soccer and rugby) To kick (a player) on the shins.
14. To strike in a frantic movement.
15. To strike lightly as part of tapotement massage.

1. A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.
2. A food-rack for cattle.
3. A rack used to dry something, such as bricks, fish, or cheese.
4. A grating in a mill race.

1. To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.
2. To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained.

1. A horse for hire, especially one which is old and tired.
2. A person, often a journalist, hired to do routine work.

   I got by on hack work for years before I finally published my novel.

3. Someone who is available for hire; hireling, mercenary.
4. A taxicab (hackney cab) driver.
5. A vehicle let for hire; originally, a hackney coach, now typically a taxicab.
6. A hearse.
7. (authorship) An untalented writer.

   Dason is nothing but a two-bit hack.

8. One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.)
9. A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language.
10. A political agitator. (slightly derogatory)
11. A writer who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.
12. A procuress.

1. To make common or cliched; to vulgarise.
2. To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.).
3. To be exposed or offered or to common use for hire; to turn prostitute.
4. To live the life of a drudge or hack.
5. To use as a hack; to let out for hire.
6. To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.

noun

A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for use in hackeysack.

verb

To play hackeysack.