DictionaryAI

rock

SayROK/ɹɑk/UK/ɹɒk/

Pluralrocks (some meanings)

Verbrocks, rocking, rocked

34 meanings of rock

Practice

  1. 1
    stone (material)noununcountable
    The hard natural mineral material that makes up much of the earth's crust; also, a particular kind of it, such as granite.

    The cliff face exposes layers of rock laid down over millions of years.

    Molten material cools to form new rock along the ocean floor.

    UsageUsually no article for the material: solid rock, layers of rock. A rock usually means one piece.

    Similarstone

  2. 2
    a stone (object)nouncountable or uncountable
    A boulder or large stone; in the US and Canada, also a smaller stone or pebble.

    A loose rock the size of a car had tumbled onto the road.

    He tossed a small rock into the stream and watched the ripples.

    Similarstone, boulder, pebble

    Note

    Here size depends on geography. In Britain and Ireland a rock is something big, a boulder or large stone. In the US and Canada the word stretches down to a pebble. So a rock thrown through a window may be a small stone to an American speaker and something heavy to a British one, and readers on either side should picture it accordingly.

  3. 3
    musicnoununcountable
    A style of popular music built on a steady drumbeat and guitar riffs, usually featuring electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals.

    By the 1970s, rock had become the dominant sound on radio.

    The festival mixes folk, jazz, and hard rock across three stages.

    UsageRock covers styles from the 1960s on; rock and roll usually means the earlier 1950s style.

    Note

    Shortened from rock and roll, and the two names have since parted. Rock now covers a broad family of styles from the 1960s onward, while rock and roll is generally left to the earlier, more swing-oriented style that developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  4. 4
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A large mass of stone rising from the ground or the sea, including a small bare island.

    A jagged rock rose from the shallows where the river bent sharply.

    Sailors warned each other about the rock that broke the surface at low tide.

    UsageA ship on the rocks is aground on rocks; a whisky on the rocks is served over ice.

    Similarcrag, outcrop

    Note

    Where the material becomes something you can count and run into: a rock, the rocks. Slender, ghostly hoodoos several stories high are rocks in this sense too.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  5. 5
    move to and froverbtransitive or intransitive
    To move, or make something move, back and forth or from side to side, gently or violently.

    Boats rock softly when the wake reaches the dock.

    She rocked the hammock back and forth to soothe the child.

    UsageCommon patterns: rock a baby to sleep, rock back and forth, rock yourself in a chair.

    Similarsway, swing, roll, toss, shake

    Note

    Here a second, unrelated word begins: the verb comes from Old English roccian, through Germanic, and has nothing to do with the stone. In W. B. Maxwell's The Mirror and the Lamp (1918), a man sits rocking himself in a swing chair.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  6. 6
    be greatverbslangintransitive
    To be excellent or to perform extremely well.

    The diner looks run-down from the outside, but its pancakes really do rock.

    The new album absolutely rocks from start to finish.

    UsageTakes no object: this place rocks. The usual opposite is sucks or stinks.

    Similarrule

    Oppositesuck, stink

    Note

    Slang praise for anything at all, from chocolate to a holiday in Ibiza. Its company is easy to remember: when a thing rocks, it rules or bangs, and when it does not, it stinks or sucks.

  7. 7
    wear wellverbcolloquialtransitive
    To wear an outfit or carry off a particular look with confidence and style.

    He rocks a tailored suit better than most models.

    Few people can rock such a bold haircut and make it look effortless.

    UsageOften used in the -ing form: she was rocking a red dress.

    Similarsport

    Note

    Fashion writing's verb for wearing something with flair, most often in the progressive. The Sun (2012) has Rihanna rocking a black backless crocodile dress. Tim Jonze in The Guardian (2011) turns it wry: a Tory Burch outfit offset with a whacking great bruise. Its close synonym is sport.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The Sun used this description of Rihanna in 2012. en.wiktionary.org
    • The cited Sun example describes Rihanna rocking a black backless crocodile dress. en.wiktionary.org
    • Tim Jonze's 2011 Guardian article contains the Tory Burch outfit and bruise example. theguardian.com
  8. 8
    dependable personnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
    A strong, stable, dependable person or thing; someone who provides security or support to another.

    During the long illness, she became the rock everyone leaned on.

    A good coach is the rock a struggling team builds itself around.

    UsageCommon patterns include my rock and the rock of the family.

    Similarpillar, mainstay, anchor, backbone

    Note

    Its most famous early use is in the King James Bible of 1611: 'upon this rock I will build my church', said to Peter. Modern use is warmer and more personal, usually with a possessive: 'She is my rock, my right hand,' in Soapdish (1991). The image is the stone's hardness turned into praise. The slang insult reads that same hardness as dullness instead.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  9. 9
    affect deeplyverbtransitive
    To shock, upset, or strongly affect someone emotionally.

    The unexpected news rocked the entire community.

    News of the factory closure would rock the small town for months.

    UsageCommon in news reports: a community rocked by scandal. Rock someone's world can describe a powerful positive or negative effect.

    Similarshake, stun, shock, stagger, move

    Note

    Two moods share one construction. In headlines it is passive and grim: Downing Street has been rocked by yet another sex scandal. In conversation it can be joyful, and rock someone's world is high praise. The transitive frame comes from the physical shaking, with feelings standing in for the ground.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

  10. 10
    play musicverbintransitive
    To make or enjoy rock music, often with notable energy or skill.

    When the crowd showed up, the musicians began to rock.

    Few cover bands rock the way the originals did.

  11. 11
    do brilliantlyverbtransitive
    To do something with both flair and skill, carrying it off impressively.

    He rocked the job interview and walked out with an offer.

    She can rock a tough exam without even studying.

    Similarace, nail, smash

    Oppositefail, flunk, bomb

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of rock apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4, 8, 12, 14, 16–19, 21

From Old English *rocc (seen in stānrocc, 'high stone peak'), later reinforced by Anglo-Norman roque, from Medieval Latin rocca (recorded in 767). The origin of rocca is uncertain, possibly Celtic.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

Meanings 5, 9, 13, 20

Old English roccian became Middle English rokken, from which the verb 'to rock' was inherited. Before that it goes back to Proto-West Germanic *rokkōn and Proto-Germanic *rukkōną, possibly in the end to Proto-Indo-European *h₃rewk-. Compare Modern German rücken ('to move, shift').

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

Meanings 3, 6–7, 10–11, 15

Shortened from rock and roll. As 'rock' came to cover a wider range of styles, 'rock and roll' has often been used to refer to earlier 1950s forms, notably the more swing-oriented style.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • 'Rock', meaning the music, is shortened from 'rock and roll'. en.wiktionary.org
  • Rock developed to encompass a wider range of styles. en.wikipedia.org
  • 'Rock and roll' has often referred to earlier 1950s forms, notably the more swing-oriented style. en.wiktionary.org