hack at

Frequency: 6.24.1 per million words

To aim rough, repeated cuts or blows at something.

Categories:

Examples (10)

  • She hacked at the hedge with the shears.
  • The lost hiker hacked at the thick vines with his small knife.
  • He was hacking at the block of ice, trying to break it into smaller pieces.
  • The critic mercilessly hacked at the author's new novel.
  • For hours, the rescue team hacked at the wreckage to free the trapped passengers.
  • The woodpecker relentlessly hacked at the tree trunk.
  • Frustrated, he began to hack at the tangled rope with a shard of glass.
  • You can't just hack at the sculpture; you need to carve it with precision.
  • The knights hacked at each other's shields during the intense battle.
  • I watched the butcher hack at the large piece of meat with a cleaver.