rock
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 © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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