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black hat

[ blak hat ]

noun

, Informal.
  1. a villain, as in a cowboy movie; bad guy.
  2. Also called black hat hacker. Computers. a hacker who violates the security of a system without the knowledge or consent of the owner or developer, as for personal profit or for the gratification of causing damage.


black hat

noun

  1. informal.
    1. a computer hacker who carries out illegal malicious hacking work
    2. ( as modifier ) Compare white hat

      black-hat hackers

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Other Words From

  • black-hat black-hat·ted adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of black hat1

First recorded in 1955–60 black hat fordef 1, and in 1990–95 black hat fordef 2; from the black hat worn by the villain in a cowboy movie
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. wear / put on a black hat, Informal, to behave villainously.
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Compare Meanings

How does black hat compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

There is Joan Crawford in a huge black hat, her face, said Horst, “is all make-up, a mask not a face.”

In his latest book, I Wear the Black Hat, Klosterman admits that he was “hating Coldplay in order to avoid hating myself.”

But Loyau-Kennett simply refused to take the message from the man in the black hat.

They called it the “Take off the Black Hat” campaign and the changes came immediately, Yang claimed.

Hastings is said to have an unofficial “uniform” of his own, which consists of jeans, a gray T-shirt, and a black hat.

The girl was dressed in a pearl grey and pink sports coat, with a large black hat, and carried a silver chain handbag.

What dress she wore was black, and on her golden head was an immense black hat covered with feathers.

A black hat, wide of brim and carefully creased, replaced the nondescript felt affair which Bill usually wore.

Jimmy sat bolt upright, his black hat pendant between his knees.

They were driven by a tall man, with a long brown beard and a great black hat, which seemed to hide his face from us.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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