Housebreaking is the crime of entering another person's house by force, for example by breaking the locks or windows, in order to steal their possessions.
...a huge increase in housebreaking and car theft.
housebreaking in British English
(ˈhaʊsˌbreɪkɪŋ)
noun
criminal law
the act of entering a building as a trespasser for an unlawful purpose. Assimilated with burglary, 1968
Derived forms
housebreaker (ˈhouseˌbreaker)
noun
housebreaking in American English
(ˈhaʊsˌbreɪkɪŋ)
noun
the act of breaking and entering into another's house to commit theft or some other felony: it is itself a felony
Derived forms
housebreaker (ˈhouseˌbreaker)
noun
Examples of 'housebreaking' in a sentence
housebreaking
`It says that the intruder didn't know much about housebreaking, but he did know a lot about the Moffats.
Ashford, Jeffrey A QUESTION OF PRINCIPLE (2002)
But when simple housebreaking and burglary give way to the deadly pursuit of a really big score, the stakes suddenly skyrocket.
Elmore Leonard WHEN THE WOMEN COME OUT TO DANCE (2002)