backbreaking
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of backbreaking
Explanation
When something is backbreaking it requires a lot of physically difficult work. You'll be exhausted after a long day of backbreaking work on a farm. Backbreaking work doesn't literally break your back, but it will probably make it ache, which explains the origin of this adjective. Digging ditches, moving furniture, and hours of harvesting vegetables are all examples of backbreaking work. You can also spell backbreaking as a hyphenated word too: back-breaking.
Vocabulary lists containing backbreaking
The Color of a Lie
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Difficult
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
In the author’s words, “early childbearing, backbreaking labor, and bad luck were family traditions.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Everyone paid to see a pitcher intentionally put himself behind in the count, let a runner on base who would come around to score, and then give up a backbreaking grand slam.
From Slate • Nov. 11, 2025
From quarry workers to weavers, welders to tailors, the pictures highlight the diverse, backbreaking work undertaken by the estimated 400 million labourers in India.
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2025
I really do love it in a sick way because it’s hard, backbreaking work to do — showrunning and executive producing and fighting for every story and all of that.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2024
Historically the inmates were required to do backbreaking labor, including picking cotton, for about four cents an hour.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
