n. 1. A thin crisp wafer or biscuit, usually made of unsweetened dough. 2. One that cracks, especially: a. A firecracker. b. A small cardboard cylinder covered with decorative paper that holds candy or a party favor and pops when a paper strip is pulled at one or both ends and torn. c. The apparatus used in the cracking of petroleum. d. One who gains unauthorized access to a computer or computer network, usually for a malicious purpose such as to steal information or damage programs. See Usage Note at hacker. 3. Offensive Used as a disparaging term for a white person, especially one who is poor and from the southeast United States. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.