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rock-and-roll

[rok-uh n-rohl]
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noun
  1. rock-'n'-roll.

rock-'n'-roll

or rock-and-roll, rock 'n' roll

[rok-uh n-rohl]
noun
  1. a style of popular music that derives in part from blues and folk music and is marked by a heavily accented beat and a simple, repetitive phrase structure.
adjective
  1. of or relating to this music.
verb (used without object)
  1. to dance to or play rock-'n'-roll.

Origin of rock-'n'-roll

1950–55; contraction of phrase rock and roll; see rock2
Related formsrock-'n'-roll·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for rock and roll

rock and roll

rock'n'roll

noun
    1. a type of pop music originating in the 1950s as a blend of rhythm and blues and country and western. It is generally based upon the twelve-bar blues, the first and third beats in each bar being heavily accented
    2. (as modifier)the rock-and-roll era
  2. dancing performed to such music, with exaggerated body movements stressing the beat
verb
  1. (intr) to perform this dance
Derived Formsrock and roller or rock'n'roller, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rock and roll

n.

also rock 'n' roll, 1954 in reference to a specific style of popular music, from rock (v.2) + roll (v.). The verbal phrase had been a Black English euphemism for "sexual intercourse," used in popular dance music lyrics and song titles since at least the 1930s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper