MEANING
To cut or strike repeatedly with rough, forceful blows.
Use it for
Ragged cutting; desperate attempts to free a trapped limb; destructive frenzyShow effort and poor control through repeated action rather than a smooth cut.
Words that belong together
- hack at flesh
- hack through bone
- hacked to pieces
On the page
He hacked at the rope until the knife slipped.
The carcass had been hacked apart rather than cleanly jointed.
She heard the attacker hacking through the door between them.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- hack / hacks
- Past tense
- hacked
- Past participle
- hacked
- Present participle
- hacking
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- hack / hacks
- Present continuous
- am/is/are hacking
- Present perfect
- have/has hacked
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been hacking
- Past
- hacked
- Past continuous
- was/were hacking
- Past perfect
- had hacked
- Past perfect continuous
- had been hacking
- Future
- will hack / hacks
- Future continuous
- will be hacking
- Future perfect
- will have hacked
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been hacking
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Less controlled than slice or incise; commonly implies repeated attempts. Other senses include computer intrusion and coping, which are unrelated here. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: hack, hacks, hacked, hacked, hacking.
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