growth hacking

Register · Informal Informal — used in casual, everyday conversation among friends and family. Avoid in formal writing or professional settings. CEFR C1

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Figurative meaning

using creative, low-cost, data-driven experiments to grow a user base rapidly

Why this phrase?

Coined by Sean Ellis around 2010: growth achieved by engineering, not by ad spend.

Example

“The team growth-hacked their way to a million signups without a marketing budget.”

Dictionary details

Alternate forms

growth hacker

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

word of mouth Neutral · CEFR B1

recommendations spread informally from person to person

hockey stick Neutral · CEFR B2

a pattern of slow or flat growth followed by a sudden, dramatic rise

throw it at the wall and see what sticks Informal · CEFR B2

to try many ideas quickly, keeping only the ones that work

seed money Neutral · CEFR B1

the initial capital used to start a business

ship it Informal · CEFR B1

to release the product or feature now, as an imperative; to ship

wear many hats Informal · CEFR B1

to perform many different roles, especially in a small organization

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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