rock
UK /ɹɒk/ · US /ɹɑk/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms rocks rocking rocked
- noun (uncountable) The naturally occurring aggregate of solid mineral matter that constitutes a significant part of the earth's crust. “The face of the cliff is solid rock.”
- noun A mass of stone projecting out of the ground or water. “The ship crashed on the rocks.”
- noun (chiefly UK, Ireland) A boulder or large stone; or (US, Canada) a smaller stone; a pebble. “Some fool has thrown a rock through my window.”
- noun (geology) Any natural material with a distinctive composition of minerals.
- noun (colloquial) A precious stone or gem, especially a diamond. “Look at the size of that rock on her finger!”
- noun A large hill or island having no vegetation. “The captain named it Pearl Rock after the rising sun illuminated the surface of the island.”
- noun (figuratively) Something that is strong, stable, and dependable; a person who provides security or support to another.
- noun A lump or cube of ice. “I'll have a whisky on the rocks, please.”
- verb (transitive) To pelt with rocks; to stone.
- verb (transitive and intransitive) To move gently back and forth. “Rock the baby to sleep.”
- verb (intransitive) To sway one's body as a stim.
- verb (transitive) To cause to shake or sway violently. “Don't rock the boat.”
- verb (intransitive) To sway or tilt violently back and forth. “The boat rocked at anchor.”
- verb (transitive and intransitive, of ore etc.) To be washed and panned in a cradle or in a rocker. “The ores had been rocked and laid out for inspection.”
- verb (transitive) To disturb the emotional equilibrium of; to distress; to greatly impact (most often positively). “Downing Street has been rocked by yet another sex scandal.”
- verb (intransitive) To do well or to be operating at high efficiency.
- verb (intransitive, slang) To be very favourable or skilful; excel; be fantastic. “Chocolate rocks.”
- noun An act of rocking; a rocking motion; a sway.
- noun (music) A style of music characterized by basic drum-beat, generally 4/4 riffs, based on (usually electric) guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards (often), and vocals.
- verb (intransitive) To play, perform, or enjoy rock music, especially with a lot of skill or energy. “Let's rock!”
Synonyms
stone cliff boulder pebble gem diamond foundation support ice ice cube crack rock candy crack natural mineral aggregate bedrock agitate trouble cook with gas flourish bang John Rock rock candy rock 'n' roll rock'n'roll rock-and-roll rock and roll rock music careen sway tilt
Antonyms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English rocke, rokke (“rock formation”), from Old English *rocc (“rock”), as in Old English stānrocc (“high stone rock, peak, obelisk”), and also later from Anglo-Norman roque, (compare Modern French roc, roche, rocher), from Medieval Latin rocca (attested 767), of uncertain origin, sometimes said to be of Celtic (in particular, perhaps Gaulish) origin (compare Breton roc'h). Related also to Middle Low German rocke (“rock ledge”). One suggestion is that it derives from Vulgar Latin *rupica, from rupes (compare rupico).
Inherited from Middle English rokken, from Old English roccian, from Proto-West Germanic *rokkōn, from Proto-Germanic *rukkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ruknéh₂ti, from *h₃rewk-, *h₃runk-.
See also obsolete Dutch rokken, Middle High German rocken (“to drag, jerk”), Modern German rücken (“to move, shift”), Icelandic rukka (“to yank”); also Latin runcāre (“to weed”), Latvian rũķēt (“to toss, dig”).
Shortened from rock and roll. Since the meaning of rock has adapted to mean a simpler, more modern, metal-like genre, rock and roll has generally been left referring to earlier forms such as that originating in the 1950s, notably more swing-oriented style.
From Middle English rok, rocke, rokke, perhaps from Middle Dutch rocke (whence Dutch rokken), Middle Low German rocken, or Old Norse rokkr (whence Icelandic / Faroese rokkur, Danish rok, Swedish spinnrock (“spinning wheel”)). Cognate with Old High German rocko (“distaff”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Roc.
- noun A distaff used in spinning; the staff or frame about which flax is arranged, and from which the thread is drawn in spinning. Chapman.
- noun A large concreted mass of stony material; a large fixed stone or crag. See Stone.
- noun Any natural deposit forming a part of the earth's crust, whether consolidated or not, including sand, earth, clay, etc., when in natural beds.
Etymology [OE. rocke; akin to D. rok, rokken, G. rocken, OHG. roccho, Dan. rok, Icel. rokkr. Cf. Rocket a firework.]
Etymology [OF. roke, F. roche; cf. Armor. roc'h, and AS. rocc.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “rock”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details