housebreaker
Americannoun
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a person who breaks into and enters a house with a felonious intent.
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British.
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a worker or wrecking company that demolishes houses and buildings, as to make room for new construction.
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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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Other Word Forms
- housebreaking noun
Etymology
Origin of housebreaker
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.
“Now suppose that you were, in truth, the owner of that house, and could not still get in; and think there was to you no conscience of the housebreaker, what would you do?”
From Literature
Lao Mao was no ordinary housebreaker - his mission was to feed two starving cats trapped in the home for 10 days.
From Reuters
Mr Turner said he discovered the housebreaker in his bedroom with the top drawer of his bedroom cabinet open.
From BBC
Your friend and apprentice housebreaker, Denna, pstscrpt—Please rest assured that I did not notice the disgraceful condition of your bed linens, and did not judge your character thereby.
From Literature
It would appear that most people in Ireland form an image of Travelers from depictions of them as tight-knit gangsters, housebreakers and feuding thugs.
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.
