hacking
hacking — adjective
1. describes a cough that is dry, harsh, repeated, and sounds painful — as if the p
describes a cough that is dry, harsh, repeated, and sounds painful — as if the person is being torn apart from the inside.
A loud hacking cough from the next room kept Élise awake all night.
attributive use: hacking + cough only
After two weeks of cold, Femi's grandmother developed a painful hacking cough.
The pharmacist recommended strong syrup for Liam's hacking cough.
Takeshi covered his mouth during the whole meeting to hide his hacking cough.
文法句型
hacking + cough (only noun it modifies)
用法筆記
This sense of 'hacking' is only used before the noun 'cough.' It never appears in other positions — not 'The cough is hacking' — and never modifies other nouns.
常見錯誤
hacking — noun
1. the practice of secretly entering a computer system or network that you are not
the practice of secretly entering a computer system or network that you are not allowed to use, usually to steal data, cause damage, or commit fraud.
The bank's security team detected a hacking attempt on its customer database.
attributive: hacking + attempt / attack / tool
Aarav was arrested for hacking into the hospital's medical records system.
verb pattern: hack + into + [system]
Many companies now hire experts in ethical hacking to test their defences.
The government passed stricter laws to prevent hacking of voting machines.
Christopher's neighbour lost thousands after a hacking attack on her online bank account.
- cracking
specifically means breaking security with malicious intent, a subset of hacking
- intrusion
more formal, often used in security reports ('intrusion detection system')
- cyberattack
broader term that includes hacking as well as viruses, denial-of-service, and other digital assaults
文法句型
hacking + of + noun
hacking + noun (attributive use)
go hacking (not common for computer sense)
用法筆記
Often used attributively: 'hacking attempt,' 'hacking tool,' 'hacking group.' The term 'ethical hacking' refers to legal, authorised testing of security systems by professionals hired to find weaknesses.
常見錯誤
2. the pastime of travelling on horseback through the countryside for enjoyment, ou
the pastime of travelling on horseback through the countryside for enjoyment, outside of formal competitions or riding-school lessons.
Sivan went hacking along the forest trails every Sunday morning.
verb pattern: go hacking
The stables offer supervised hacking trips through the nearby hills.
After a week of lessons, Linh went on her first hacking ride in the countryside.
Henrik prefers hacking on quiet country lanes to riding in a busy arena.
- trail riding
more common in American English; emphasises riding on marked trails rather than open countryside
- pleasure riding
focuses on the recreational aspect rather than the location
文法句型
go hacking
hacking + noun (attributive use)
用法筆記
Commonly used in the phrase 'go hacking.' More frequent in British English than American English; American speakers are more likely to say 'trail riding' or 'pleasure riding.'