rock
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rock (räk)
noun
- a large mass of stone forming a peak or cliff
- a large stone detached from the mass; boulder
- broken pieces of any size of such stone
- any stone, large or small
- mineral matter variously composed, formed in masses or large quantities in the earth's crust by the action of heat, water, etc.
- a particular kind or mass of this
- anything like or suggesting a rock, as in strength or stability; esp., a firm support, basis, refuge, etc.
- ☆ rockfish
- Chiefly Brit. a hard candy made in sticks
- rock candy
- Slang a diamond or other gem
- ☆ Slang crack cocaine or a single piece of it
Etymology: ME rokke < OFr roche < ML rocca
between a rock and a hard place
☆get one's rocks off
Etymology: < slang term rocks, testicles
- to experience orgasm; ejaculate
- to feel any great or satisfying pleasure or excitement
on the rocks
Informal- in or into a condition of ruin or catastrophe
- in trouble or approaching ruin a marriage that is on the rocks
- without money; bankrupt
- ☆ served over ice cubes: said of liquor, wine, etc.
rock (räk)
transitive verb
- to move or sway back and forth or from side to side (a cradle, a child in the arms, etc.), esp. in a gentle, quieting manner
- to bring into a specified condition by moving or swaying in this way to rock a baby to sleep
- to move or sway strongly; shake; cause to tremble or vibrate the explosion rocked the house
- to upset emotionally
- Engraving to prepare the surface of (a plate) for a mezzotint by roughening with a rocker (sense )
- Mining to wash (sand or gravel) in a rocker (sense )
Etymology: ME rocken < OE roccian, prob. akin to Ger rücken, to pull, push < IE *rek-, to project, totter (> ON, MDu rā, sailyard) < base *reg-, to put in order, stretch out > right
intransitive verb
- to move or sway back and forth or from side to side, as a cradle
- to move or sway strongly; shake; vibrate
- to be rocked, as ore
noun
- the act of rocking
- a rocking motion
- ☆
- rock-and-roll
- popular music evolved from rock-and-roll, variously containing elements of folk music, country music, etc. and now often emphasizing loudness, distortion, the use of electronic synthesizers, etc.
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alternate definitions:
rock
v.
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Possessives
- n: They really love rock ' n ' roll, they really respond.
Object
- horse: Rocking horse lovers in Lincolnshire admire rocking horses from our rocking horse maker for Lincolnshire.
Adjective modifier
- sedimentary: The bedrock of the district consists of some of the oldest sedimentary rock exposed in the British Isles.
Modifies a noun
- band: We've almost got a regular rock band line-up in places.
Noun used with modifier
- punk: There's even the popular new punk rock rendition of " Happy Song.
The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.
So there he is at last. Man on the moon. The poor magnificent bungler! He can't even get to the office without undergoing theagonies of the damned, but give hima littlemetal, a fewchemicals,somewireand twenty or thirty billion dollars and vroom! there he is, up on a rock a quarter of a million miles up in the sky.
I emerged at last, stumbled a few steps in the mud and then I saw it: an ethereal mountain emerging from a tossing sea of clouds framed between two dark barracksöa massive, blue-black tooth of sheer rock inlaid with azure glaciers, austere yet floating fairy-like on the near horizon. It was the first17,000-foot peak I had ever seen. I stood gazing until the vision disappeared among the shifting cloud banks. For hours afterwards I remained spell-bound. I had definitely fallen in love.
I waited patiently for the L, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"rock." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/rock>
APA Style
rock. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/rock

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