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Synonyms

backbreaking

American  
[bak-brey-king] / ˈbækˌbreɪ kɪŋ /
Or back-breaking

adjective

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

    a backbreaking job.
backbreaking British  
/ ˈbækˌbreɪkɪŋ /

adjective

  1. demanding great effort; exhausting

"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

Other Word Forms

  • backbreaker noun

Etymology

Origin of backbreaking

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But the backbreaking work left behind—often in agriculture or coal mines—was worse.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

Everyone paid to see a pitcher intentionally put himself behind in the count, let a runner on base who would come around to score, and then give up a backbreaking grand slam.

From Slate • Nov. 11, 2025

Residents have now started the backbreaking task of cleaning away the thick layer of mud, and picking through the wreckage for anything that can be used.

From BBC • Nov. 6, 2025

“Targeting hardworking farmworkers and their families who have been doing the backbreaking work in the fields for decades is unjustified and unconscionable,” Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff said in their statement.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2025

Historically the inmates were required to do backbreaking labor, including picking cotton, for about four cents an hour.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.