Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

bruiser

American  
[broo-zer] / ˈbru zər /

noun

Informal.

  1. a strong, tough person.

    The football player was over six feet tall and weighed 285 pounds—a real bruiser.
bruiser British  
/ ˈbruːzə /

noun

  1. informal a strong tough person, esp a boxer or a bully

"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

Etymology

Origin of bruiser

First recorded in 1580–90; bruise + -er 1

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.

She is the ultimate bruiser, a prolific trash-talker and a notorious pest.

From The Wall Street Journal

The apple’s signature foamy texture means it is an easy bruiser and doesn’t store as well as other varieties.

From The Wall Street Journal

Don’t look now, but a Lincoln Riley team just beat the snot out of a Big Ten bruiser.

From Los Angeles Times

As urban lizards go, it’s a bruiser, with bodies up to 7 inches long.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr. Prescott also had a reputation as a pugnacious political bruiser.

From New York Times

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.