hackers

noun

plural of hacker
1
as in crackers
a person who illegally gains access to a computer system and sometimes tampers with its information the company's security experts spent days trying to figure out how a hacker could have gotten past the firewall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in amateurs
a person who lacks experience and competence in an art or science weekend golf hackers who are there mainly for the social networking

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hackers French newspaper Le Monde reported that hackers also extended the defrost cycle in some freezers and cold-storage rooms from one hour to eight hours to delay alarms. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 13 Oct. 2026 French investigators Tuesday were hunting the hackers who seized control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets in a cyberattack that underlined the vulnerabilities of connected systems, with no group publicly claiming responsibility. — Reuters, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026 Refrigerators in French supermarkets are being targeted by remote hackers, who are dialing up their temperature to more than 120 degrees. — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 12 Oct. 2026 No connected vehicle comes with a promise that hackers will never target it. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026 Danfoss, which sells smart refrigeration systems used by retailers, issued a statement to France's BFM TV saying the hackers succeeded in part by targeting refrigeration systems no longer supported with software updates. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026 Even if the hackers have nothing else but the ability to trigger a push alert to Asos app users, that in itself is the ability to disrupt the all-important relationship with the shopper. — Evan Clark, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026 These models are more effective than humans at identifying vulnerabilities in software, creating widespread concerns that they could be abused by even inexperienced hackers to launch complex attacks on energy grids, banks and government agencies. — Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2026 Our cybersecurity defenses were built for lone hackers and dumb swarms. — Michael Morris, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hackers
  1. geeks
  2. amateurs
  3. kids
  4. beginners
Noun
  • In recent weeks, a number of states have been winning multibillion-dollar settlements from the computer geeks.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Sure, something interesting might eventually happen, but no one outside of a few Canadian space geeks was paying much attention.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of geeks
Noun
  • The London edition of Frieze, a longstanding highlight on the global art calendar that draws an annual pilgrimage of high-net-worth collectors, advisors, dealers, curators, institutional directors and amateurs to the British capital.
    — Mahoro Seward, Vogue, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Investors follow, with professionals leading the way and amateurs jumping in later.
    — RUCHIR SHARMA, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of amateurs
Noun
  • Everyone thinks their kids’ slang is ridiculous and their parents’ politics naive.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Guests with kids can stay in the main building and take advantage of the onsite restaurant and Kids Club (which people absolutely rave about) and those without children can escape to the Praia Collection.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of kids
Noun
  • Coach Mike Brown said the program welcomes beginners and experienced runners, with an emphasis on effort and improvement.
    — Donald Fountain, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The machine handles the setup steps that usually trip up beginners.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of beginners

Browse Nearby Words

hacker
hackers
hacking
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hackers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hackers. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All