What does hackman mean?
Hackman is chiefly a British informal noun for an unpleasant, malicious, or underhanded man. It is strongly derogatory and is typically directed at someone regarded as dishonest, aggressive, or contemptible. The word can sound especially blunt because it condenses such a judgment into a single, memorable label. Older English also used hackman more literally for a man who hacked or cut material with a blade, and the term has occasionally been applied to a male computer hacker. These older senses are now dated or uncommon. In contemporary use, hackman is more confrontational than gentleman and more openly insulting than terms such as difficult or disagreeable. It is therefore best reserved for contexts in which the speaker intends to characterize someone as a thoroughly contemptible man rather than merely to report an unpleasant action.
nounAn unpleasant, malicious, or underhanded man. The word is chiefly informal and derogatory.
- Chiefly British and derogatory: an unpleasant, malicious, or underhanded man.
- Dated: a man who hacks or cuts, especially wood or other material, with a blade.
- Uncommon and dated: a man who practices computer hacking.
"He dismissed his rival as a hackman who had used threats to seize the contract."
"The editor condemned him as a hackman who intimidated anyone who challenged him."
"The old job required a strong hackman to cut brush and fallen branches."
The regular plural is hackmen, without an added s.
"Several hackmen were accused of threatening shopkeepers."
Once a straightforward word for a man who cut with a blade, hackman survives as a characteristically British all-purpose insult.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hackman come from?
Hackman is an English compound formed from hack and man. Its older sense referred literally to a man who hacked or cut with a blade. In modern British English it developed into a derogatory term for a malicious or underhanded man, while the computing sense became an uncommon alternative to hacker. The word is Germanic in formation and has no widely established non-English cognate.
Related word forms
How hackman is actually used
The modern sense is chiefly British, informal, and strongly derogatory. The literal cutting sense is dated, while the computing sense is uncommon; “hacker” is normally preferred for computer-related use.