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housebreaker

[hous-brey-ker]
See more synonyms for housebreaker on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who breaks into and enters a house with a felonious intent.
  2. 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.
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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

Examples from the Web for housebreaker

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • I do declare I felt azactly like a housebreaker;—and no soul to notice what you carries.

  • First and foremost, Fagey, said the housebreaker, hows Bill?

  • They'll take you up for a housebreaker, if you're not quiet.