hacker
hacker — noun
1. A person who secretly enters a computer system or network that belongs to someon
A person who secretly enters a computer system or network that belongs to someone else, usually with the aim of stealing, changing, or looking at private information, or of causing damage to the system.
A hacker broke into the hospital's database and stole thousands of patient records.
break into + database for illegal data theft
An online retailer hired a security firm after hackers used fake logins to steal customer data.
collocation: fake logins for credential-based attacks
The IT team traced the hacker's IP address and blocked access before any credit card data left the system.
Omar warned his colleagues that hackers often target small businesses with weak passwords.
A student noticed a failing grade had become an A, and the school confirmed a hacker had altered the records.
- cybercriminal
More specific — focuses on the criminal/legal aspect rather than the technical method
- intruder
Broader — can apply to physical break-ins as well as digital ones
文法句型
hacker + verb + into + [system/network/database]
用法筆記
Frequently appears in news reports about cybersecurity incidents. The subject of the verb is often a specific individual or an organized group using automated tools.
常見錯誤
2. A person who secretly accesses another person's telephone or voicemail system wi
A person who secretly accesses another person's telephone or voicemail system without permission, usually to listen to recorded messages.
The reporter realised a phone hacker had accessed her voicemails when she found calls she had never made.
realise + when + found calls for discovery pattern
After the newspaper phone hacking scandal broke, Henrik changed his voicemail password the next day.
collocation: phone hacking scandal broke
Phone hackers broke into a celebrity's voicemail because the system still used the default password 0000.
Police arrested a hacker after tracing his logins to over two thousand private voicemails.
A government minister resigned after the Guardian revealed that a phone hacker had listened to his calls for months.
- eavesdropper
Broader — can apply to any secret listening, not just via phones
- wiretapper
More specific to phone tapping but somewhat dated in modern usage
文法句型
phone hacker + verb + [phone/voicemail/system]
用法筆記
Narrower than sense 1 — the target is always a phone or voicemail system. Frequently appears in the compound 'phone hacker' or the set phrase 'phone-hacking scandal,' especially in British journalism.
常見錯誤
3. A person with strong skills in computer programming who enjoys finding clever wa
A person with strong skills in computer programming who enjoys finding clever ways to solve technical problems, build software, or make a computer system do new things.
A group of hackers in Berlin built a free app that teaches Japanese through daily news stories.
group of hackers in [city] + built + app for collaborative projects
Sayaka is a skilled hacker who built a tool that catches bugs in medical software before release.
skilled hacker + built + tool that catches bugs for positive sense
The company's best hacker fixed a server bug that had been crashing the payment system in under an hour.
Many hackers contribute bug fixes and new features to open-source code editors in their spare time.
Dylan started out as a teenage hacker tinkering with Linux code and later became a senior software engineer.
- programmer
Broader — every hacker is a programmer but not every programmer is a hacker in the skilled sense
- developer
More professional in tone, less emphasis on creative enthusiasm
- coder
Informal, similar level of enthusiasm, but less specific about skill level
文法句型
hacker + verb + [code/software/problem/solution]
用法筆記
The original computing sense, still common in developer communities rather than news media. Distinguished from sense 1 by context — words like 'skilled,' 'build,' 'contribute,' or 'solve' signal the positive meaning. In technical circles, this is the default sense.