a politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends
"The senator was exposed as a hack who diverted public funds to enrich his inner circle of donors."
a mediocre and disdained writer
"The literary critic dismissed the new novel as mere hack work, claiming its author lacked any genuine talent or originality."
a tool (as a hoe or pick or mattock) used for breaking up the surface of the soil
"The farmer used a heavy hack to break up the hard, compacted earth before planting the seeds."
a horse kept for hire
"The old stable was full of tired hacks waiting to be rented out for the day's rides."
a saddle horse used for transportation rather than sport etc.
"The old mule was too small to serve as a hack, so they had to rent a sturdy draft horse from the stable."
A tool for chopping.
"After filling the small ball of woven cotton with dry sand, she tapped it against her palm to prepare for a game of hackeysack."
A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.
A horse for hire, especially one which is old and tired.
A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for use in hackeysack.
In plain English: A hack is a little fabric bag filled with stuff that people kick around to practice footwork.
"She juggled three hack while walking across the park."
kick on the arms
"The boxer delivered a sharp hack to his opponent's arm, causing him to stumble backward."
kick on the shins
"The horse stumbled and kicked hard, hacking me right on my shins as it reared up."
To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
"The children gathered in the yard to play a game of hackey-sack using an old soccer ball and their sneakers."
To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.
To make common or cliched; to vulgarise.
To play hackeysack.
In plain English: To hack means to kick a small bag repeatedly without letting it touch the ground while it's in the air.
"She loved to hack the little beanbag back and forth with her friends at lunch."
Usage: Use "hack" to mean cutting down trees quickly or working on a computer without proper skill; avoid confusing it with the noun forms related to falconry equipment, games, or hired horses. This verb often describes rough, unrefined work rather than precise craftsmanship.
The word "hack" comes from Old English, where it originally meant to chop or hew. Its roots trace back to Proto-Indo-European words describing sharp objects used for cutting or handling.