hack about

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Meaning · English

To be idle; to waste time; to socialize.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Làm việc nhàn rỗi, lãng phí thời gian, hoặc giao lưu

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Register: colloquial

Examples

So Madam has taken Miss amongst the Parlez-vous! By Jove, if she had been my wife, she should have trained the filly at home. She’ll run none the better for all this hacking about.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

To disfigure or damage by hacking; to cover with cuts.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Làm hỏng hoặc gây thiệt hại bằng cách cắt gọt

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “hack about” mean?

To be idle; to waste time; to socialize.

Is “hack about” formal or informal?

hack about is generally colloquial.