Word.ws English Dictionary

rootkit

rootkit noun: a set of software tools used by a third party to gain unauthorized access to a computer system and control the system while concealing itself from the user.

Noun

rootkit (plural rootkits)

  1. (computer security) A set of software tools used by a third party to gain unauthorized access to a computer system and control the system while concealing itself from the user.

Verb

rootkit (third-person singular simple present rootkits, present participle rootkitting, simple past and past participle rootkitted)

  1. (transitive) To infect (a computer system) with a rootkit.
    • Given crackers' propensity for "rootkitting" systems — installing altered system binaries to facilitate future access — systematic integrity checks using message digest algorithms or one-way hash functions can be an important detection safeguard.2000, Seth T. Ross, UNIX system security tools
    • If not, your system might have been rootkitted.2006, Ed Skoudis, Tom Liston, Counter hack reloaded

rootkit meaning in Tamil

rootkit in Tamil

தீவேர் நிரல்

Forms of rootkit

Noun
pluralrootkits
alternative formroot kit
Verb
third-person singular presentrootkits
present participlerootkitting
past participlerootkitted
pastrootkitted

Origin of rootkit

From root + kit.

Words formed from rootkit

Questions about rootkit

What does rootkit mean?
Rootkit means a set of software tools used by a third party to gain unauthorized access to a computer system and control the system while concealing itself from the user.
What is rootkit in Tamil?
Rootkit in Tamil is தீவேர் நிரல். See Rootkit meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is rootkit?
Rootkit can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of rootkit?
The plural of rootkit is rootkits.

Words near rootkit in the dictionary

  1. rooting reflex
  2. rooting tooting
  3. rooting up
  4. rooting-tooting
  5. rootings
  6. rootkit
  7. rootkits
  8. rootkitted
  9. rootkitting
  10. rootle
  11. rootled

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: rootkit (page history and authors); rootkit (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-rootkit.ogg.

Cite this entry: “rootkit.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rootkit. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.