NEW: English for Tech Bundle → Save 40%
Speak Tech English
Book class
Your progress…

Loading your progress…

Home
Business & Workplace Languagenoun · /ˈhækəθɒn/

hackathon

In simple English

A hackathon is a time-bound competitive or collaborative coding event that brings together developers, designers, and sometimes non-technical participants. The word combines hack (to write code quickly) and marathon (a long-distance event). Hackathons are common in tech companies as internal team-building activities or public events to recruit talent and generate innovation. Participants form teams, choose projects, and work continuously to deliver working code or a prototype within the event window. Most hackathons end with presentations where teams showcase their results to judges or the broader group. Companies use hackathons to foster creativity, allow engineers to explore new technologies, and build community.

What is a hackathon and how do companies use them to drive innovation?

At a glanceCEFR B2
Commonness4/5
Versatility4/5
FormalityCasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticDirect
RegionUS and UK
New app · Free lessons

Speak up in meetings. Feel confident.

Standup vocabulary, native examples, and quick practice — 100+ free lessons

Start learning freeNo card needed · Google or email
MemberMemberMember

3,000+ tech pros preparing for global tech roles

Lessons · Quizzes · Progress

Say it like this

✓We are hosting a hackathon this weekend
✓I signed up for the company hackathon
✓My team won first place at the hackathon

Real examples

in a standup

"Just a reminder that the hackathon kicks off on Friday at 9am, so plan your sprint accordingly."

in a code review

"This code looks like it was written during a hackathon—we need to refactor it before merging to main."

in a team meeting

"The hackathon is a great opportunity to work on that machine learning idea we discussed last quarter."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Hackathon refers to a scheduled event, not an urgent ad-hoc sprint. Do not use it to mean any quick fix or fast coding session.

✕We need to hackathon this bug fix urgently.
✓We need to quickly fix this bug before the release.— Hackathon is a noun and a scheduled event, not a verb meaning to work fast on something
✕I am hackathoning at my desk right now.
✓I am participating in the hackathon this week.— The term refers to the organized event itself, not to regular fast coding work
✕This is just a hackathon project, so it is fine if it is messy.
✓This is a hackathon prototype, so we can refine it later.— While hackathon code may be rough, acknowledge it is unpolished rather than dismissing quality

Other forms

noun

hackathon

"The hackathon attracted over 200 developers from across the city."

noun (attributive)

hackathon

"Our hackathon projects are due by Sunday at midnight."

Often used with

participate in a hackathonUsed when someone takes part in the event
host/organize a hackathonUsed when a company runs the event
win a hackathonUsed when a team achieves first place
hackathon projectThe work created during a hackathon
hackathon teamA group of people working together at the event

Similar words

coding competitionMore formal, but not all hackathons are competitive
sprintShorter duration, different context; sprint is Agile methodology
jam sessionInformal, less structured; used in some creative tech communities

Opposites

long-term projectwaterfall development

Featured course

English for Developers Bundle

Full tech-English bundle for meetings, code reviews, and everyday developer communication.

500+ reviews

View

Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Pick the most natural phrasing

1. Your manager mentions an upcoming company event. Which is correct?

Complete the sentence

2. My team is preparing to _______ in the annual _______ organized by our engineering department.

Spot the mistake

3. Which sentence uses hackathon correctly?

Rewrite naturally

4. Rewrite using hackathon: A 48-hour event where our developers work together to build new software ideas and show their results at the end.

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "hackathon" in a standup this week?

Want more structured practice like this? Our English for Programmers course covers real workplace English in depth.

Your badges

XLinkedIn
← Back to home