breaker

1
[ brey-ker ]
See synonyms for: breakerbreakers on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person or thing that breaks.

  2. a wave that breaks or dashes into foam.

  1. Citizens Band Radio Slang. a person who indicates a wish to transmit a message, as by breaking in on a channel.

  2. Also called breaker strip .Automotive. a strip of fabric under the tread of a pneumatic tire casing, designed to protect the carcass.

  3. Textiles.

    • a machine that separates the fiber from foreign matter in preparation for the carding process.

  4. Also called prairie breaker . a plow with a long, low moldboard for turning virgin land.

  5. Mining.

    • a building where coal delivered from a mine is broken up and sorted.

    • a machine that reduces large lumps of coal or ore to a size that can be accommodated by a conveyor belt.

interjection
  1. Citizens Band Radio Slang. (used to announce that a person is about to transmit a message or question on a channel, especially one already in use.)

Origin of breaker

1
First recorded in 1125–75; break + -er1

synonym study For breaker

2. See wave.

Words Nearby breaker

Other definitions for breaker (2 of 2)

breaker2
[ brey-ker ]

nounNautical.
  1. a small water cask for use in a boat.

Origin of breaker

2
First recorded in 1825–35; said to be alteration of Spanish bareca, variant of barrica “small keg”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use breaker in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for breaker (1 of 2)

breaker1

/ (ˈbreɪkə) /


noun
  1. a person or thing that breaks something, such as a person or firm that breaks up old cars, etc

  2. a large wave with a white crest on the open sea or one that breaks into foam on the shore

  1. electronics short for circuit breaker

  2. a machine or plant for crushing rocks or coal

  3. Also called: breaking plough a plough with a long shallow mouldboard for turning virgin land or sod land

  4. textiles a machine for extracting fibre preparatory to carding

  5. an operator on citizens' band radio

British Dictionary definitions for breaker (2 of 2)

breaker2

/ (ˈbreɪkə) /


noun
  1. a small water cask for use in a boat

Origin of breaker

2
C19: anglicized variant of Spanish barrica, from French (Gascon dialect) barrique

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for breaker

breaker

[ brākər ]


  1. A wave that crests or breaks into foam, as against a shoreline.

  2. A circuit breaker.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.