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

Other Word Forms

• black-hat adjective
• black-hatted adjective

Word 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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

Example Sentences

Court documents revealed police recovered a knife, a Glock pistol, black gloves, a black hat and a black face mask during a search of Kohberger's family home.

From BBC

Court documents revealed police recovered a knife, a Glock pistol, black gloves, a black hat and a black face mask during a search of Mr Kohberger's family home.

From BBC

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.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Los Angeles Times

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.”

From Los Angeles Times