backbreaking

or back-break·ing

[ bak-brey-king ]

adjective

1. demanding great effort, endurance, etc.; exhausting:

   a backbreaking job.

backbreaking

/ ˈbækˌbreɪkɪŋ /

adjective

1. demanding great effort; exhausting

Other Words From

• backbreaker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of backbreaking¹

First recorded in 1780–90; back ¹ + break + -ing ²

Example Sentences

He held onto the ball — in the end zone — for too long, and afraid he was going to be pulled down for a safety, he threw a backbreaking interception.

From Washington Post

Signs of the toxic and backbreaking work the enslaved had to do at the primitive ironmaking site emerged.

From Washington Post

Advocates for robotic farming tout increased automation as a step toward improving efficiency while freeing people from monotonous, backbreaking tasks that few laborers want to do.

From Washington Post

Today, instead of men performing backbreaking work on creaking machinery, unkempt grass bends in the light breeze.

From The Daily Beast

According to political lore, patriot-Americans do the backbreaking work that keeps the country humming.

From The Daily Beast

It will take some backbreaking investigation to get the whole story, because the files show nothing on any of them.

From Project Gutenberg

All they had to look forward to from the D'zertanoj was backbreaking labor and an early death.

From Project Gutenberg

The combination of heat, hard, backbreaking work, and the necessity for hurry made haying a particularly fatiguing time.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arduous
• exhausting
• grueling
• laborious