rock

rock¹

noun

1》 the hard mineral material of the earth's crust, exposed on the surface or underlying the soil.

    ↘a mass of this projecting out of the ground or water.

    ↘(the Rock) Gibraltar.

    ↘a boulder.

    ↘N. Amer. a stone of any size.

2》 Geology any natural material with a distinctive mineral composition.

3》 Brit. a kind of hard confectionery in the form of cylindrical peppermint-flavoured sticks.

4》 informal a diamond or other precious stone.

5》 informal a small piece of crack cocaine.

6》 (rocks) vulgar slang a man's testicles.

Phrases

between a rock and a hard place informal faced with two equally difficult alternatives.

get one's rocks off vulgar slang have an orgasm.

on the rocks informal

1》 experiencing difficulties and likely to fail.

2》 (of a drink) served undiluted and with ice cubes.

Derivatives

rockless adjective

rock-like adjective

Origin

ME: from OFr. rocque, from med. L. rocca.

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rock²

verb

1》 move gently to and fro or from side to side.

    ↘shake, especially because of an earthquake or explosion.

2》 cause great shock or distress to.

3》 informal dance to or play rock music.

4》 informal (of a place) be exciting or full of social activity.

noun

1》 (also rock music) a form of popular music derived from rock and roll and pop music but characterized by a more serious approach.

    ↘rock and roll.

2》 a rocking movement.

Origin

OE roccian, prob. from a Gmc base meaning 'remove, move'.