housebreaker

noun

"housebreaker" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“housebreaker” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A criminal who breaks into and enters another's house or premises with the intent of committing a crime.

Corpus desk

Index EN-housebreaker · housebreaker · English

housebreaker · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for housebreaker
PropertyValue
Headwordhousebreaker
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “housebreaker” in English

housebreakerfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

housebreaker is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A criminal who breaks into and enters another's house or premises with the intent of committing a crime.".

Zero misspellings are on record for housebreaker in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From house + breaker. The correct English form is housebreaker, spelled H-O-U-S-E-B-R-E-A-K-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A criminal who breaks into and enters another's house or premises with the intent of committing a crime.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how housebreaker appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] here were no Gibers, Cenſurers, Backbiters, Pick-pockets, Highwaymen, Houſebreakers, Attorneys, Bawds, Buffoons, Gameſters, Politicians, Wits, ſplenetick tedious Talkers, Controvertiſts, Raviſhers, Murderers, Robbers, Virtuoſo's; […]
  2. [H]e is dressed in such a rapscallion manner that the people would think you were talking to a house-breaker.

Etymology

From house + breaker.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "housebreaker"?
"housebreaker" is spelled H-O-U-S-E-B-R-E-A-K-E-R.
What does "housebreaker" mean?
As a noun, "housebreaker" means: A criminal who breaks into and enters another's house or premises with the intent of committing a crime.
What is the origin of the word "housebreaker"?
From house + breaker. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list