Join Us On

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Thesaurus

Medical

Scrabble^®

Spanish Central

Browse Dictionary Browse Thesaurus

Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android

Dictionary

¹rock

verb \ˈräk\

: to move (someone or something) back and forth or from side to side

: to cause (something) to shake violently

: to cause (someone or something) to be upset or shocked

Full Definition of ROCK

transitive verb

: to move back and forth in or as if in a cradle

a : to cause to sway back and forth <a boat rocked by the waves>

b (1) : to cause to shake violently (2) : to daze with or as if with a vigorous blow <a hard right rocked the contender> (3) : to astonish or disturb greatly <the scandal rocked the community>

: to rouse to excitement (as by performing rock music) <rocked the crowd>

intransitive verb

: to become moved backward and forward under often violent impact; also : to move gently back and forth

: to move forward at a steady pace; also : to move forward at a high speed <the train rocked through the countryside>

: to sing, dance to, or play rock music

slang : to be extremely enjoyable, pleasing, or effective <her new car rocks>

— rock the boat

: to do something that disturbs the equilibrium of a situation

See rock defined for English-language learners

See rock defined for kids

Origin of ROCK

Middle English rokken, from Old English roccian; akin to Old High German rucken to cause to move

First Known Use: 12th century

Related to ROCK

Synonyms: careen, lurch, pitch, roll, seesaw, sway, toss, wobble (also wabble)

Synonym Discussion of ROCK

shake, agitate, rock, convulse mean to move up and down or to and fro with some violence. shake often carries a further implication of a particular purpose <shake well before using>. agitate suggests a violent and prolonged tossing or stirring <an ocean agitated by storms>. rock suggests a swinging or swaying motion resulting from violent impact or upheaval <the whole city was rocked by the explosion>. convulse suggests a violent pulling or wrenching as of a body in a paroxysm <spectators were convulsed with laughter>.

²rock

noun, often attributive

Definition of ROCK

: a rocking movement

: popular music usually played on electronically amplified instruments and characterized by a persistent heavily accented beat, repetition of simple phrases, and often country, folk, and blues elements

First Known Use of ROCK

1823

³rock

noun

Definition of ROCK

: distaff

: the wool or flax on a distaff

Origin of ROCK

Middle English roc, from Middle Dutch rocke; akin to Old High German rocko distaff

First Known Use: 14th century

⁴rock

noun

Definition of ROCK

: a large mass of stone forming a cliff, promontory, or peak

: a concreted mass of stony material; also : broken pieces of such masses

: consolidated or unconsolidated solid mineral matter; also : a particular mass of it

a : something like a rock in firmness: (1) : foundation, support (2) : refuge <a rock of independent thought … in an ocean of parochialism — Thomas Molnar>

b : something that threatens or causes disaster —often used in plural

a : a flavored stick candy with color running through

b : rock candy 1

slang

a : gem

b : diamond

a : a small crystallized mass of crack cocaine

b : crack 9

: the ball used in basketball

— rock adjective

— rock·like \ˈräk-ˌlīk\ adjective

— between a rock and a hard place also between the rock and the hard place