rock - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Early Medieval Latin rocca

English rock

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).[1] Related also to Middle Low German rocke (“rock ledge”). One suggestion is that it derives from Vulgar Latin *rupica, from rupes (compare rupico).[2]

rock (countable and uncountable, plural rocks)

Solid mineral aggregate.

A boulder.

A yellow diamond.

Several rocks of crack cocaine.

  1. A formation of minerals, specifically:
    1. (uncountable) The naturally occurring aggregate of solid mineral matter that constitutes a significant part of the earth's crust.
      Synonym: stone
      The face of the cliff is solid rock.
      • 2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist‎[1], volume 407, number 8842, archived from the original on 1 November 2020, page 28:
        Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. […] Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
      • 2018 July 17, Autumn Spanne, “Check out these crazy rock formations across the United States”, in CNN‎[2]:
        This park’s strange and beautiful rock formations were formed by the Yellowstone River and various streams that have cut through the rock over millions of years, carving out hoodoos, spires and caprocks. The name Makoshika comes from a Lakota word for badlands.
    2. A mass of stone projecting out of the ground or water.
      The ship crashed on the rocks.
      • 2018 July 17, Autumn Spanne, “Check out these crazy rock formations across the United States”, in CNN‎[3]:
        This enormous, 1.7 million acre property offers hikes to spectacular formations like Metate Arch in Devil’s Garden and the Wahweap Hoodoos, slender, ghostly rocks that can reach several stories high.
    3. (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.
    4. (geology) Any natural material with a distinctive composition of minerals.
    5. (colloquial) A precious stone or gem, especially a diamond.
      Look at the size of that rock on her finger!
      • 2025 June 27, Marina Hyde, “Anna Wintour has spent decades dictating a certain look for the super-rich. Then along came Lauren”, in The Guardian‎[4], →ISSN:
        Here she is, a billionaire’s wife, yet gripped by constant social anxiety, forever agonising that she’d worn her best rocks to an event that actually called for “patio jewellery” (necklaces $1m or under).
      • 2025 August 12, Sadiba Hasan, “Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Are Engaged. All Eyes Are on the Ring.”, in The New York Times‎[5], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 August 2025:
        In an Instagram post on Monday, Georgina Rodríguez, the longtime girlfriend of the soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, shared a photo of a gigantic rock on her ring finger.
  2. A large hill or island having no vegetation.
    The captain named it Pearl Rock after the rising sun illuminated the surface of the island.
  3. (figuratively) Something that is strong, stable, and dependable; a person who provides security or support to another.
    • 1991, Robert Harling and Andrew Bergman, Soapdish, Paramount Pictures,
      Celeste Talbert: She is my rock, my right hand.
  4. A lump or cube of ice.
    I'll have a whisky on the rocks, please.
  5. (British, uncountable) A type of confectionery made from sugar in the shape of a stick, traditionally having some text running through its length.
    While we're in Brighton, let's get a stick of rock!
    • 2009, Michela Wrong, It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower:
      Most Kenyans blithely assumed that if the British high commissioner said something, it represented British policy, a thought-through position running from one end of government to the other, like the lettering in a stick of Brighton rock.
  6. (US, slang) A crystallized lump of crack cocaine.
    Synonyms: crack rock, candy
    • 1995, “Dear Mama”, in Me Against the World, performed by 2Pac:
      I ain't guilty, ‘cause even though I sell rocks / It feels good puttin' money in your mailbox
    • 2014, Russell Brand, “Prologue”, in Revolution, →ISBN, page xiii:
      When I necked five-quid bottles of vodka, I did not read the label. When I scored rocks and bags off tumbleweed hobos blowing through the no-man's-land of Hackney estates, I conducted no litmus test.
  7. (US, slang) An unintelligent person, especially one who repeats mistakes.
  8. (South Africa, slang, derogatory) An Afrikaner.
  9. (US poker slang) An extremely conservative player who is willing to play only the very strongest hands.
  10. Any of several fish:
  11. The striped bass.
  12. The huss or rock salmon.
    We ordered rock and chips to take away.
  13. (US, basketball, slang) A basketball.
    Yo homie, pass the rock!
  1. (US, baseball, slang) A mistake.
  1. (curling) Synonym of stone.
  2. (rock paper scissors) A closed hand (a handshape resembling a rock), that beats scissors and loses to paper. It beats lizard and loses to Spock in rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.
  3. (informal, cricket) A cricket ball, especially a new one that has not been softened by use
  4. (CB radio slang) A crystal used to control the radio frequency.

natural mineral aggregate

mass of projecting rock

large stone or boulder

(US) smaller stone; pebble — see pebble

hill or island without vegetation

something strong, stable, and dependable

precious stone or gem

lump of ice

confectionery made from sugar

derogative: Afrikaner (for non-derogative terms, see Afrikaner)

Translations to be checked

rock (third-person singular simple present rocks, present participle rocking, simple past and past participle rocked)

  1. To pelt with rocks; to stone.

    • 1908, Rudyard Kipling, Stalky & Co.:
      Do you chaps mean to say you didn't make Rabbits-Eggs drunk and bribe him to rock King's rooms?

  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “rock”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

  3. ^ https://www.etymonline.com/word/rock

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”).

rock (third-person singular simple present rocks, present participle rocking, simple past and past participle rocked)

  1. (transitive and intransitive) To move gently back and forth.
    Rock the baby to sleep.
    The empty swing rocked back and forth in the wind.
    1. (intransitive) To sway one's body as a stim.
  2. (transitive) To cause to shake or sway violently.
    Don't rock the boat.
    • 1958 February, Arthur F. Beckenham, “A Journey in the Belgian Congo”, in Railway Magazine, page 93:
      The lights of Luluabourg disappeared, and we were in the blackness of the African night, which was continuously pierced by the showers of red sparks ejected skywards and red hot ashes deposited on the track as the fireman rocked his fire.
  3. (intransitive) To sway or tilt violently back and forth.
    The boat rocked at anchor.
  4. (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.
  5. (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.
    She rocked my world.
  6. (intransitive) To do well or to be operating at high efficiency.
    • 2012 April 24, Phil Dawkes, “Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:
      The Blues' challenge had been rocking at that point, with Terry's centre-back partner Gary Cahill lost to injury and Barca having just levelled the tie through Busquets's neat, close-range finish from Isaac Cuenca's pull-back.
  7. (intransitive, slang) To be very favourable or skilful; excel; be fantastic.
    Synonyms: bang, rule; see also Thesaurus:excel
    Antonyms: stink, suck
    Chocolate rocks.
    My holidays in Ibiza rocked! I can't wait to go back.
  8. (slang, ambitransitive, euphemistic) To make love to or have sex (with).
    I wanna rock!
    • 1974, Andy Kim, “Rock Me Gently”:
      Rock me gently, rock me slowly, take it easy, don't you know, that I have never been loved like this before.
    • 1974, Harry Wayne Casey, Richard Finch, “Rock Your Baby”, performed by George McCrae:
      Open up your heart / And let the loving start / Oh, woman, take me in your arms / Rock your baby.
    • 1999, Harry Connick Jr., “Come By Me”:
      Try me out, and if you get excited
      Take me home, I'd love to be invited
      Once we're there, I'm sure you'll be delighted
      We could rock all night

move gently back and forth

cause to shake or sway violently

sway or tilt violently back and forth

disturb the mental or emotional equilibrium

Translations to be checked

rock (plural rocks)

  1. An act of rocking; a rocking motion; a sway.

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.

rock (uncountable)

  1. (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.

style of music

rock (third-person singular simple present rocks, present participle rocking, simple past and past participle rocked)

  1. (intransitive) To play, perform, or enjoy rock music, especially with a lot of skill or energy.
    Let's rock!
  2. (transitive) To thrill or excite, especially with rock music.
    Let's rock this joint!
  3. (intransitive) To have people dancing and enjoying rock music.
    • 1962, “Monster Mash”, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Lenny Capizzi (lyrics), performed by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers:
      The scene was rocking, all were digging the sounds
      Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
      The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
      With their vocal group, The Crypt-Kicker Five.
  4. (transitive) To do something with excitement yet skillfully.
    I need to rock a piss.
  5. (transitive) To wear (a piece of clothing, outfit etc.) successfully or with style; to carry off (a particular look, style).
    Synonym: sport
    • 2011 April 29, Tim Jonze, “Nerdy but nice”, in The Guardian‎[8]:
      Take today, where she's rocking that well-known fashion combo – a Tory Burch outfit offset with a whacking great bruise attained by smacking her head on a plane's overhead lockers.
    • 2012 May 8, “Rhianna dazzles at the Met Gala”, in The Sun newspaper‎[9]:
      Rihanna was the pick of the best bunch, rocking a black backless crocodile dress from Tom Ford’s Autumn 2012 collection

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”).

rock (countable and uncountable, plural rocks)

  1. (countable) Distaff.
    • 1899, T Frank Waters, The Development of Our Town Government:
      By order of the General Court in 1642, the "prudentiall" men of each town were instructed "to take care of such [children] as are sett to keep cattle be set to some other employment withal, as spinning upon the rock, knitting, weaving tape, etc., and that boys and girls be not suffered to converse together so as may occasion any wanton, dishonest or immodest behavior.
    • 1902, Day Otis Kellogg, Thomas Spencer Baynes, William Robertson Smith, The Encyclopaedia Britannica, page 664:
      A prepared end of yarn being fixed into the notch, the spinster, by a smart rolling motion of the spindle with the right hand against the right leg, threw it out from her, spinning in the air, while, with the left hand, she drew from the rock an additional supply of fibre which was formed into a uniform and equal strand with the right.
    • 1920, John Horner, The Linen Trade of Europe During the Spinning-wheel Period, page 32:
      It is true that in Ireland, even in recent years, the flax, before being placed on the rock or distaff, was tangled into a mass, or, as Cormmelin expresses it, “drawn out in a flat cake.”
  2. (uncountable) The flax or wool on a distaff.

rock (plural rocks)

  1. Archaic form of roc (mythical bird).

Borrowed from English rock.

rock m (uncountable)

  1. rock, rock music

Borrowed from English rock.

rock m inan

  1. rock (style of music)

Unadapted borrowing from English rock. Doublet of rots.

rock m (uncountable, no diminutive)

  1. rock (style of music)

Unadapted borrowing from English rock.

rock

  1. rock (style of music)

Borrowed from English rock.

rock m (uncountable)

  1. rock (style of music)

Unadapted borrowing from English rock.

rock (plural rockok)

  1. (music) rock (style of music)
    Synonym: rockzene

Unadapted borrowing from English rock.

rock m (uncountable)

  1. rock (style of music)

Unadapted borrowing from English rock.

rock m inan

  1. rock (style of music)

Unadapted borrowing from English rock.

rock m (uncountable)

  1. rock (style of music)
    Synonym: rock and roll

Unadapted borrowing from English rock.

rock n (plural rockuri)

  1. rock

Unadapted borrowing from English rock.

rock m (plural rocks)

  1. rock (music style)

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

From Old Swedish rokker, from Middle Low German rock, from Old Saxon rok, from Proto-West Germanic *(h)rokk, from Proto-Germanic *rukkaz.

rock c

  1. a coat, an overcoat

Borrowed from English rock.

rock c (uncountable)

  1. (music, uncountable) rock, rock and roll