noun
Meaning 1
Synonym of ball-breaker.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, vulgar
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ball-breaker
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
ball-buster
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
Meaning 2
a job or situation that is demanding and arduous and punishing
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- Vietnam was a ball-breaker
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ball-breaker
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: job, task, chore
noun
Meaning 3
a demanding woman who destroys men's confidence
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: ball-breaker
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: woman, adult female
History
Etymology
Unknown. By surface analysis, ball + buster. Possibly derived from Yiddish בעל־הביתטע (baleboste, “mistress, lady of the house”), in which case synonyms like ball-breaker and ball-wracker may be secondary derivations. See also Beelzebub for connotations of the same supposed first element. Any deverbal formation conflated with back-breaking may have reinforced the native development.