definitions

jawbreaker

[ jaw-brey-ker ]
/ ˈdʒɔˌbreɪ kər /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jawbreaker ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Informal. a word that is hard to pronounce.
a very hard, usually round, candy.
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.

RELATED WORDS

sweet, bonbon, confectionery, sweetmeat, confit, hokum

Nearby words

jaw-dropping, jaw-winking syndrome, jawan, jawara, jawbone, jawbreaker, jawed, jawfish, jawlensky, jawless fish, jawlike

Origin of jawbreaker

First recorded in 1830–40; jaw1 + breaker1

Related forms

jaw·break·ing, adjectivejaw·break·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jawbreaker

  • His title is a jawbreaker: director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

    Obama's Slavery Czar|Lynn Sherr|November 24, 2009|DAILY BEAST

  • Well, you see, hes the only fellow in the club who knows how to pronounce the names of those Russian and Polish jawbreaker towns.

    Anecdotes of the Great War|Carleton Britton Case

  • He had been careful, however, to pick the jawbreaker up and put it in his mouth.

    Pee-Wee Harris Adrift|Percy Keese Fitzhugh

British Dictionary definitions for jawbreaker

jawbreaker

/ (ˈdʒɔːˌbreɪkə) /

noun

Also called: jawcrusher a device having hinged jaws for crushing rocks and ores
informal a word that is hard to pronounce

Derived Forms

jawbreaking, adjectivejawbreakingly, adverb
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