jawbreaker
Americannoun
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Informal. a word that is hard to pronounce.
real jawbreakers like "antidisestablishmentarianism" or "antiangiogenic."
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a very hard, usually round, candy.
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Also called jaw crusher. Mining. a machine used to break up ore, consisting of a fixed plate and a hinged jaw moved by a toggle joint.
noun
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Also called: jawcrusher. a device having hinged jaws for crushing rocks and ores
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informal a word that is hard to pronounce
Other Word Forms
- jawbreaking adjective
- jawbreakingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of jawbreaker
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.
Most people give little thought to Earth’s deep interior, thinking of our home planet as simple nested layers, like a jawbreaker hard candy.
From Washington Post • Apr. 10, 2023
Arlene Shechet's 17 recent sculptures at Susanne Vielmetter's new downtown L.A. gallery make for an absolute jawbreaker of a show: deliciously unwieldy, a slow release of intense, kaleidoscopic flavor.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2019
Over the phone later, the clerk who scheduled me for the required parenting class that is offered through the county courthouse sounded as if she was struggling with a jawbreaker.
From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2010
The fate of the world can hang on a jawbreaker.
From The Guardian • Aug. 6, 2010
I feel like such a baby about the jawbreaker lump in my throat that feels like it’s gonna dissolve and spill outta my eyes in liquid form.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
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.
