breaker boy

noun

A boy, or sometimes a man unable to do other mining work, employed to separate impurities from coal at the breaker of a coal mine in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Similar
coal cracker
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Meanings

nounbreaker boy (plural breaker boys)

plural breaker boys

  1. historicalA boy, or sometimes a man unable to do other mining work, employed to separate impurities from coal at the breaker of a coal mine in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

    Synonyms: coal cracker

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA boy, or sometimes a man unable to do other mining work, employed to separate impurities from coal at the breaker of a coal mine in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Similar
coal cracker
Cite this entry
APA

breaker boy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breaker%20boy

MLA

“breaker boy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breaker%20boy. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “breaker boy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breaker%20boy.

Source: breaker boy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.