heartbreakers

Noun

heartbreaker (plural heartbreakers)

1. (agent) A person, usually attractive, who flirts with or otherwise enamours another person, but does not reciprocate their love.
   • It wasn't an actual run-in with the heartbreaker himself, but with a very good friend of his. It's actually much better that way, Victor explained, because seeing the friend of the person who stepped on your heart isn't going to kill you all over again.2005, Alison Pace, If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend, Penguin, →ISBN
2. (agent) Something that causes sorrow, grief or extreme disappointment.
   • He's not lucid most of the time, and that's a heartbreaker. The LAPD will not release details on the altercation that earned Dudley Smith his wounds; they know he would prefer to spare the family of the robber he killed the ignominy of public ...2011, James Ellroy, White Jazz, Vintage, →ISBN, page 340
3. (agent) A match which ends in defeat for a promising player or team.
   • Kansas appeared in its first bowl following the 1947 season, losing a heartbreaker to Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. KU landed in the Bluebonnet Bowl following the 1961 season, and beat up a good Rice squad, 33-7.2004, Mark Stallard, Tales from the Jayhawks Gridiron, Sports Publishing LLC, →ISBN, page 164
4. (agent, dated) A curl or lovelock.