BLACK HAT Definition & Meaning

black hat

[blak hat]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Informal.

a villain, as in a cowboy movie; bad guy.
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

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

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

black-hat adjective
black-hatted adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of black hat¹

First recorded in 1955–60 black hat for def. 1, and in 1990–95 black hat for def. 2; from the black hat worn by the villain in a cowboy movie

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

wear / put on a black hat, to behave villainously.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The night that Sandoval was killed in Ontario, Pulido showed up at the Firewater Bar wearing a black hat that read “Mongols M.C.” and a black sweatshirt with the letters “MFFM,” which stands for “Mongols Forever, Forever Mongols,” the officer wrote in the complaint.

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Many techniques come together in the iconic pointy black hat for the future Wicked Witch of the West.

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There are also Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon,” originally published as a serial in Black Hat magazine, and John Steinbeck’s first novel, “Cup of Gold.”

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Smartly dressed in a white suit and black hat, Fury added: "I'm going to dish out a whole lot of pain."

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Elphaba arrives alone, outfitted in the pointy black hat that Glinda has tricked her into wearing, and gets teased by all her classmates as she has been since arriving at Shiz University.

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

Black Hand black haw

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