housebreak

[hous-breyk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR housebreak ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), house·broke, house·bro·ken, house·break·ing.

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

Origin of housebreak

First recorded in 1895–1900; house + break

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for housebreaking

robbery, heist, crime, larceny, theft, break-in, burglary, pilfer, kidnap, swipe, remove, keep, plunder, take, strip, embezzle, loot, abduct, divert, ransack

Examples from the Web for housebreaking

Historical Examples of housebreaking

"Housebreaking is entirely out of my province," Tranter objected.
The Crooked House
Brandon Fleming
If I don't see you after we've bagged him I'd better charge him with housebreaking, I suppose?
The Grell Mystery
Frank Froest
He cannot enter, of course, or we could arrest him on a charge of housebreaking!
The Sins of Sverac Bablon
Sax Rohmer
It was probably overtime at housebreaking that had told on him.
Dwellers in Arcady
Albert Bigelow Paine
Yes; he has just been sent to the Maryland penitentiary for housebreaking.
Try Again
Oliver Optic

British Dictionary definitions for housebreaking

housebreaking

noun

criminal law the act of entering a building as a trespasser for an unlawful purpose. Assimilated with burglary, 1968

Derived Formshousebreaker, noun

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

Word Origin and History for housebreaking

housebreak

1820, "to break into a house criminally;" see house (n.) + break (v.). Perhaps a back-formation from housebreaker, attested from mid-14c. Sense of "to train a domestic animal to be clean in the house" is from 1881. Related: Housebreaking; housebroken.