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Glite Dictionary
🐶 Pet toilet training 🕵️ Illegal entry
housebreaking

housebreaking

1 8.2
An illegal entry into a building to steal things or commit a crime
  • noun
  • /ˈhaʊsˌbreɪkɪŋ/
  • UK
translation icon : robo
  • I DID A LITTLE HOUSEBREAKING WHILE YOU WERE AWAY.

Examples

  • Five housebreaking in area.

    Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

  • Looks like housebreaking.

    Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

  • The police reported an increase in housebreaking incidents in the neighborhood last month.

  • After the housebreaking, the family installed a new security system to feel safer.

  • The judge sentenced him to five years for housebreaking and related offenses.

Synonyms

burglary
vshousebreaking
155 3.0

Entering a building without permission to steal things

is about illegal entry with intent to commit any crime, not only theft
break-in
vshousebreaking
83 3.9

An illegal entry into a building to steal or damage things

is focused on entering a building rather than any premises
breaking and entering
vshousebreaking
36 5.6

To illegally enter a building by force to steal things

is illegal entry that does not always involve physical force

Antonyms

right of entry
  • Formal
6.8

Permission by law to go into or take control of property

How Serious

aggravated assault
  • NSFW
25 7.9
burglary
155 3.0
housebreaking
  • UK
1 8.2
trespassing
1 5.8

Surface Forms

housebreaking singular
housebreakings plural

Morphology

housebreaking = housebreak (transparent) = house + break + ing

The noun denotes the act of 'breaking (into) a house'; the components 'house' + 'breaking' directly yield the burglary sense.

Etymology

The word housebreaking comes from the parts house and break, where break has the idea of 'to break into' or force entry. So, housebreaking means entering someone's house illegally, usually to steal.