1. a skilled burglar who specializes in breaking into safes or buildings
Usage: informal; dated

Examples

• The police suspected the work of a professional cracksman when they found the safe expertly opened.
• In old detective novels, the cracksman was often portrayed as a gentleman thief.
• The museum’s security system was designed to thwart even the most skilled cracksman.
• He earned a reputation as the city’s most notorious cracksman in the 1920s.
• The cracksman left no fingerprints and made off with the entire contents of the vault.