housebreaker

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person who illegally enters a house, usually by force, in order to steal or commit another crime

   Police caught the housebreaker climbing through a rear window.

2. 2
   noun

   a person or business employed to demolish houses; chiefly historical British usage

   The housebreaker salvaged the doors and fireplaces before demolishing the building.

A compound of house + breaker. The criminal sense refers to someone who breaks into a dwelling; the older trade sense refers to someone who breaks a house apart for demolition and salvage.

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