gray hat
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The gray hat hacker helped the company fix its security vulnerabilities
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “gray hat” mean?
A person who acts between good and evil Literally: a hat that is gray
Is “gray hat” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.