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Synonyms

housebreak

American  
[hous-breyk] / ˈhaʊsˌbreɪk /

verb (used with object)

housebroke, housebroken, housebreaking

  1. to train (a pet) to excrete outdoors or in a specific place.

Etymology

Origin of housebreak

First recorded in 1895–1900; house + break

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.

Thanks to this bin they’ll be easy to find when I need to put down a dropcloth, light the charcoal grill or housebreak a puppy.

From Washington Post

He would in effect housebreak them, he suggested, checking their worst instincts.

From New York Times

Walsh is also being charged with burglary in connection to a Feb. 19 Investigation into a local housebreak.

From Seattle Times

Police say Ostrander was being pursued because he was a suspect in a housebreak and was driving 60 mph when he struck Auburn Officer Luis Santos as he was deploying tire-deflation devices.

From Seattle Times

Mack intended to teach her tricks and go in vaudeville and he didn’t even housebreak her.

From Literature

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.