jawbreaker

[ jaw-brey-ker ]
/ ˈdʒɔˌbreɪ kər /

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.

Origin of jawbreaker

First recorded in 1830–40; jaw1 + breaker1

OTHER WORDS FROM jawbreaker

jaw·break·ing, adjective jaw·break·ing·ly, adverb

Example sentences 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 of jawbreaker

jawbreaking, adjective jawbreakingly, adverb