breadwinner

[ bred-win-er ]

noun

1. a person who earns a livelihood, especially one who also supports dependents.

breadwinner

/ ˈbrɛdˌwɪnə /

noun

1. a person supporting a family with his or her earnings

Derived Forms

• ˈbreadˌwinning, nounadjective

Other Words From

• breadwinning noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of breadwinner¹

First recorded in 1810–20; bread + winner

Example Sentences

“He's going to be of the opinion that he should be the breadwinner, but he knows she's a strong woman. That's been one of the cool things about their sort of relationship, is that she barks back at him. When she's unhappy with something he says she's the first one to tell him where to go and how it's going to be.”

From Salon

The 25-year-old widow, who had depended on her husband as the breadwinner, now has three young children to care for.

From BBC

Keke Palmer tells us about working with Jordan Peele on ‘Nope,’ being her family’s breadwinner as a child and the acting coaching she got from Angela Bassett.

From Los Angeles Times

She talked about how her son, who started his career running barefoot, had worked hard to become an international runner and the family’s breadwinner, the Nation newspaper reports.

From BBC

Janine, a professor, was the breadwinner in her family—voluntarily—as her former husband went to grad school and spent a decade writing a screenplay.

From Salon