housebreaker

[hous-brey-ker]

See more synonyms for housebreaker on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who breaks into and enters a house with a felonious intent.
British.
1. a worker or wrecking company that demolishes houses and buildings, as to make room for new construction.
2. a person who buys doors, paneled walls, etc., from standing houses, to sell as antiques; a person who dismantles a house of its valuable parts before it is torn down.

Origin of housebreaker

1275–1325; Middle English. See house, breaker¹

Related formshouse·break·ing, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for housebreaker

raider, burglar, looter, pickpocket, thief, bandit, crook, swindler, thug, marauder, pirate, mugger, shoplifter, rustler, sniper, criminal, robber, pilferer, lurker, housebreaker

Examples from the Web for housebreaker

Historical Examples of housebreaker

I feel enough like a sneakin' ragamuffin and housebreaker as 'tis.
Thankful's Inheritance
Joseph C. Lincoln
I—I—I did n't mean that; I did n't say you were a housebreaker.
The Daltons, Volume II (of II)
Charles James Lever
I do declare I felt azactly like a housebreaker;—and no soul to notice what you carries.
Rhoda Fleming, Complete
George Meredith
First and foremost, Fagey, said the housebreaker, hows Bill?
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)
Charles Dickens
They'll take you up for a housebreaker, if you're not quiet.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 71, No. 436, February 1852
Various