cheat code

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

cheat code (plural cheat codes)

1. (video games) A line of text or series of commands which can be used to change a game's behavior, alter a character's looks and abilities, skip levels, or access other hidden features.
   • 2023, “Practice”, in Water Made Us, performed by Jamila Woods ft. Saba:

     Got more patience than a tree grow / Got love that feels like a cheat code

2. (figurative) A way to accomplish something that bypasses some of the usual hard work; shortcut, lifehack, or advantage.
   • 2021, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, “Trust Where You Are”, in The Fear-Fighter Manual: Lessons from a Professional Troublemaker, London: Quercus Editions Ltd, →ISBN:

     How did the other folks make it? It’s not necessarily because they’re smarter. It’s not automatically that they know more than I do. It’s not because they’re more clever. It’s that they found the cheat codes or knew somebody who knew somebody.

   • 2021, Suzie Lavington, Andy Cope, A Girl’s Guide to Being Fearless: How to Find Your Brave, Chichester, West Sussex: Capstone, Wiley, →ISBN, back cover:

     This gem of a book is a gathering of life’s cheat codes, put together with girls in mind.

   • 2024, Alisha Chandran, “Global Agreements – A Game of Diplomacy”, in Beyond the Forecast: The Science, Impact, and Opportunity of Our Climate Crisis, [Bradford, West Yorkshire]: Ethics International Press Ltd, →ISBN, page 73:

     Global agreements also focus on technology sharing—think of it as countries passing around the best cheat codes for fighting climate change.

Translations

series of commands which can be used to change a game's behavior

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 金手指 (gam¹ sau² zi²)

  Mandarin: 作弊碼 / 作弊码 (zh) (zuòbìmǎ), 秘籍 (zh) (mìjí), 秘笈 (zh) (mìjí)

• Portuguese: trapaça (pt) f, macete (pt) m
• Spanish: clave fullera f

Further reading

• “cheat code”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.