rocky
1 Americanadjective
-
rockier,
comparative
-
rockiest
superlative
-
inclined or likely to rock; tottering; shaky; unsteady.
-
difficult or uncertain; full of hazards or obstacles.
a business with a rocky future.
-
physically unsteady or weak, as from sickness.
adjective
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consisting of or abounding in rocks
a rocky shore
-
hard or unyielding
rocky determination
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hard like rock
rocky muscles
adjective
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weak, shaky, or unstable
-
informal (of a person) dizzy; sickly; nauseated
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of rocky1
First recorded in 1400–50; rock 1 + -y 1 ( def. )
Origin of rocky2
Explanation
Anything rocky is covered with rocks, like a rocky beach or hillside. You can also use rocky for something that moves in a bumpy or uneven manner, like a rocky ride in a Jeep. There's a figurative sense of rocky that means "difficult, rough, or up-and-down" like your rocky relationship with your sister or a struggling business's rocky future. This meaning comes from a combination of the "uneven and covered with rocks" definition and the verb rock, or "sway back and forth." The Rocky Mountains, which aren't actually all that rocky, were named for the local Native American people, called "the stone Sioux" by their Cree neighbors.
Vocabulary lists containing rocky
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
September was rocky in 2021 and 2022, but during the past few years, the index has managed to finish the month higher, despite some hiccups here and there.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
"A month ago there was nothing here. A rocky mountain, barely any trees, barely any shade. We're arriving now," new resident Reut Baran, 35, told AFP in front of her new home.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Dundee United, Jagiellonia Bialystok and now Hibernian have all taken first-half leads against the Ibrox side as they struggle to find a semblance of form during a rocky start to the campaign.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
John Mozeliak’s first foray into upgrading the Angels is off to a rocky start.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
I stood up again and looked at the sea grass that bent itself over the rocky road.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Some systems could produce larger planets, rockier worlds, or perhaps more planets overall.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026
The new year is already off to a rockier start, with the stock down around 24% in 2026.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
But it’s been a rockier road than they had hoped.
From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2025
If it doesn’t, the economy could face even rockier times.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2025
Arabia Terra is certainly rockier than Acidalia Planitia, but nowhere near as bad as I'd feared.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
The past year—which included parent company Paramount’s controversial merger with Skydance Media, and the installment of Bari Weiss as CBS News’ editor in chief—has been one of the rockiest in 60 Minutes’ decadeslong history.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
That is helping Weyerhaeuser ride out one of the rockiest periods for the forest-products industry in the past two decades.
From Barron's ● Dec. 16, 2025
But redemption truly will be judged in this series, and he got off to the rockiest of starts, missing his first six threes before finally splashing one in the fourth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2024
Last school year was one of the rockiest years for transportation in the district.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2022
The trail maintainers in Maine have a certain hale devotion to seeking out the rockiest climbs and most forbidding slopes, and of these Maine has a breathtaking plenitude.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
