hacking

/ˈhækɪŋ/

//ˈhækɪŋ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hacking" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hacking” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,430. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,430
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Short and interrupted, broken, jerky; hacky.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hacking · hacking · English

hacking · rank #8,430 · 11 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,430
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH gifted

Nearest frequency peer: gifted (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hacking”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hacking” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hacking vs having
71% similar
hacking vs hiking
71% similar
hacking vs hating
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hacking
PropertyValue
Headwordhacking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhækɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,430
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hacking”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).hackinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “gifted” (#8,429), “Garcia” (#8,428), “heir” (#8,432). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hacking” is #8,430. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around hacking (IPA /ˈhækɪŋ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,430 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Short and interrupted, broken, jerky; hacky.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for hacking, with forms such as "ahcking", "haccking", and "hacikng". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "having", "hiking", "hating", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *hackynge, hackande, hakand, equivalent to hack + -ing. The correct English form is hacking, spelled H-A-C-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Short and interrupted, broken, jerky; hacky.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hacking appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A hacking cough. A hacking laugh. A hacking breath. A hacking cry.
  2. “So now everything's fine.” I uttered a hacking laugh. “No,” I said, in answer to a query from Aunt Dahlia. “I have not accidentally swallowed my tonsils, I was merely laughing hackingly. Ironical that the young blister should say that everything is fine, for at this very moment disaster stares us in the eyeball.”

Etymology

From Middle English *hackynge, hackande, hakand, equivalent to hack + -ing.

This word in other languages

trocken(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahcking
  • haccking
  • hacikng
  • hackign
  • hackingg
  • hackinng
  • hackking
  • hacknig
  • hakcing
  • hcaking
  • hhacking

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hacking - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ahcking2haccking1hacikng2hackign2hackingg1hackinng1hackking1hacknig2
Edit distance from "hacking"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hacking"?
"hacking" is spelled H-A-C-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhækɪŋ/.
What does "hacking" mean?
As an adjective, "hacking" means: Short and interrupted, broken, jerky; hacky.
What words are commonly confused with "hacking"?
"hacking" is commonly confused with "having", "hiking", "hating". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hacking"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hacking" is /ˈhækɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hacking"?
From Middle English *hackynge, hackande, hakand, equivalent to hack + -ing. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hacking", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

foolish#8,425Hopkins#8,437doubles#8,414doubled#8,413

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

dangers11 variantsMemphis11 variantsnursery11 variantsbrowser11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list