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hack it

 - 5 dictionary results

hack

1[hak]
–verb (used with object)
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. to deal or cope with; handle: He can't hack all this commuting.
7. Computers. to devise or modify (a computer program), usually skillfully.
8. Basketball. to strike the arm of (an opposing ball handler): He got a penalty for hacking the shooter.
9. British. to kick or kick at the shins of (an opposing player) in Rugby football.
10. South Midland and Southern U.S. to embarrass, annoy, or disconcert.
–verb (used without object)
11. to make rough cuts or notches; deal cutting blows.
12. to cough harshly, usually in short and repeated spasms.
13. Tennis.
a. to take a poor, ineffective, or awkward swing at the ball.
b. to play tennis at a mediocre level.
14. British. to kick or kick at an opponent's shins in Rugby football.
–noun
15. a cut, gash, or notch.
16. a tool, as an ax, hoe, or pick, for hacking.
17. an act or instance of hacking; a cutting blow.
18. a short, rasping dry cough.
19. a hesitation in speech.
20. Curling. an indentation made in the ice at the foot score, for supporting the foot in delivering the stone.
21. British. a gash in the skin produced by a kick, as in Rugby football.
22. hack around, Slang. to pass the time idly; indulge in idle talk.
23. hack it, Slang. to handle or cope with a situation or an assignment adequately and calmly: The new recruit just can't hack it.

Origin:
1150–1200; ME hacken; cf. OE tōhaccian to hack to pieces; c. D hakken, G hacken


1. mangle, haggle. See cut.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
hack

  1. n.
    a taxi. : Go out to the street and see if you can get a hack.
  2. n.
    a cough. : That's a nasty hack you've got there.
  3. n.
    a professional writer who writes mediocre material to order. : This novel shows that even a hack can get something published
  4. n.
    a reporter. : Newspaper hacks have to know a little of everything.
  5. tv.
    to write clumsy or inefficient computer programs. : I can hack a program for you, but it won't be what you want.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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hack it

  1. tv.
    to stand up to something; to endure something. : I'm afraid you can't hack it. It just isn't working out.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

hack  (1)
in O.E. tohaccian "hack to pieces," from W.Gmc. *khak- (cf. O.Fris. hackia, Du. hakken, O.H.G. hacchon), perhaps infl. by O.N. höggva "to hack, hew," from PIE *kau- "to hew, strike." Sense of "short, dry cough" is 1802. Noun meaning "an act of hacking" is from 1836; fig. sense of "a try, an attempt" is first attested 1898. Slang sense of "cope with" (such as in can't hack it) is first recorded in Amer.Eng. 1955, with a sense of "get through by some effort," as a jungle.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2hack
Function: noun
: a short dry cough
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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