ROCK


Meaning of ROCK in English

/ rɒk; NAmE rɑːk/ noun , verb

■ noun

HARD MATERIAL

1.

[ U , C ] the hard solid material that forms part of the surface of the earth and some other planets :

They drilled through several layers of rock to reach the oil.

a cave with striking rock formations (= shapes made naturally from rock)

The tunnel was blasted out of solid rock.

volcanic / igneous / sedimentary, etc. rocks

2.

[ C ] a mass of rock standing above the earth's surface or in the sea / ocean :

the Rock of Gibraltar

The ship crashed into the infamous Sker Point rocks and broke into three pieces.

3.

[ C ] a large single piece of rock :

They clambered over the rocks at the foot of the cliff.

The sign said 'Danger: falling rocks'.

STONE

4.

[ C ] ( NAmE ) a small stone :

Protesters pelted the soldiers with rocks.

MUSIC

5.

(also ˈrock music ) [ U ] a type of loud modern music with a strong beat played on electric guitars and drums :

punk rock

a rock band / star

SWEET / CANDY

6.

( BrE ) [ U ] a type of hard sweet / candy made in long sticks, often sold in places where people go on holiday / vacation by the sea / ocean :

a stick of Brighton rock

JEWEL

7.

[ C , usually pl. ] ( NAmE , informal ) a precious stone , especially a diamond

PERSON

8.

[ C , usually sing. ] a person who is emotionally strong and who you can rely on :

He is my rock.

IDIOMS

- (caught / stuck) between a rock and a hard place

- get your rocks off

- on the rocks

—more at steady adjective

■ verb

MOVE GENTLY

1.

[usually + adv. / prep. ] to move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side; to make sb/sth move in this way :

[ v ]

The boat rocked from side to side in the waves.

She was rocking backwards and forwards in her seat.

[ vn ]

He rocked the baby gently in his arms.

SHOCK

2.

[ vn ] [ often passive ] to shock sb/sth very much or make them afraid :

The country was rocked by a series of political scandals.

The news rocked the world.

SHAKE

3.

to shake or to make sth shake violently :

[ v ]

The house rocked when the bomb exploded.

[ vn ]

The town was rocked by an earthquake.

( figurative )

The scandal rocked the government (= made the situation difficult for it) .

DANCE

5.

[ v ] ( old-fashioned ) to dance to rock music

BE GOOD

5.

[ v ] ( slang ) sth rocks used to say that sth is very good :

Her new movie rocks!

IDIOMS

- rock the boat

—more at foundation For more information see the Cultural Guide

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WORD ORIGIN

noun senses 1 to 4 and noun senses 6 to 7 Middle English : from Old French rocque , from medieval Latin rocca , of unknown ultimate origin.

noun sense 5 and verb late Old English roccian , probably from a Germanic base meaning remove, move; related to Dutch rukken jerk, tug and German rücken move. The noun dates from the early 19th cent.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.