bruiser

Noun

bruiser (plural bruisers)

1. In contact sports, an athlete whose size, strength, and/or aggressiveness make it likely that they will cause athletes on the opposing team to suffer physical punishment.
2. (broadly, colloquial, derogatory) A tall, strong, heavily built person, usually a man, especially one prone to physical violence; a strong and tough person.
   • His "assistant" was a big bruiser named Pete, who, with his enormous shoulders and menacing scowl, was clearly present for the intimidation factor.
   • So there, my dear Bertie, was I, within a few hours of my entrance into this town, with my top-hat down to my ears, my highly professional frock-coat, and my kid gloves, fighting some low bruiser on a pedestal in one of the most public places, in the heart of a yelling and hostile mob! I ask you...1895, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, chapter X, in The Stark Munro Letters: […], London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   thug

3. A machine for bruising oats.
4. A person who enjoys arguing with others.
5. A professional boxer.
   • Sometimes, when in the newspapers I happen upon descriptions of our modern bruisers and prizefighters, I wonder what chance the best of them would have had against him.1906–1907, Jack London, chapter V, in Before Adam