ack

ack

ACK

/ak/ interj.
1. [common; from the ASCII mnemonic for 0000110] Acknowledge. Used to register one's presence (compare mainstream _Yo!_). An appropriate response to ping or ENQ.
2. [from the comic strip "Bloom County"] An exclamation of surprised disgust, esp. in "Ack pffft!" Semi-humorous. Generally this sense is not spelled in caps (ACK) and is distinguished by a following exclamation point.
3. Used to politely interrupt someone to tell them you understand their point (see NAK). Thus, for example, you might cut off an overly long explanation with "Ack. Ack. Ack. I get it now".

There is also a usage "ACK?" (from sense 1) meaning "Are you there?", often used in email when earlier mail has produced no reply, or during a lull in talk mode to see if the person has gone away (the standard humorous response is of course NAK (sense 2), i.e., "I'm not here").

ACK definition

1. /ak/ The mnemonic for the ACKnowledge character, ASCII code 6.
2. A message transmitted to indicate that some data has been received correctly. Typically, if the sender does not receive the ACK message after some predetermined time, or receives a NAK, the original data will be sent again.
[Jargon File]
(1997-01-07)

ack. acknowledge acknowledgment