bedrock

[ bed-rok ]

/ ˈbɛdˌrɒk /

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See synonyms for bedrock on Thesaurus.com

noun

Geology. unbroken solid rock, overlaid in most places by soil or rock fragments.

bottom layer; lowest stratum.

any firm foundation or basis: Technical courses will be founded on a bedrock of sound, general education so as to produce a well-rounded engineer.

the fundamental principles, as of a teaching, belief, or science: Let's strip away the cant and get down to bedrock.

adjective

basic; fundamental.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of bedrock

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; bed + rock¹

Words nearby bedrock

bedraggled, bedrail, bed rest, bedrid, bedridden, bedrock, bedroll, bedroom, bedroom eyes, bedroom slipper, Beds

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bedrock in a sentence

I think decency is the bedrock of defining what makes us humans.
Why Mastercard isn’t a credit card company, according to its outgoing CEO Ajay Banga|cleaf2013|December 3, 2020|Fortune
In the long term, the thinking goes, culture is a better bedrock for a rebuild than a hypothetical prospect.
All four NFC East teams have three wins. For Washington, that means it’s full steam ahead.|Sam Fortier|November 23, 2020|Washington Post
Yet the choice — to know he was positive yet participate in close contact over and over again — casts aside the discipline Turner needed to transform himself from onetime castoff to franchise bedrock.
In a moment that called for self-sacrifice, Justin Turner opted for a frustrating celebration|Barry Svrluga|October 28, 2020|Washington Post
The Affordable Care Act’s LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections, in combination with a commitment to sexual and reproductive healthcare, provided a solid bedrock for the NHAS.
Want to end HIV? Actions speak louder than sound bites|Cecilia Chung, Ronald Johnson, Naina Khanna and Sean Strub|August 22, 2020|Washington Blade

The bedrock of your on-site SEO efforts is your content which, I believe, we have discussed as incisive as possible.
SEO on a shoestring budget: What small business owners can do to win|Ali Faagba|June 4, 2020|Search Engine Watch
So we know that boring down to the bedrock and pumping it full of fluid can cause earthquakes.
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“To minimize sprawl” has become a bedrock catchphrase of the core political ideology.
The Progressives’ War on Suburbia|Joel Kotkin|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Freedom will seep into the bedrock as we rediscover our backbone.
Market Leninism vs. the West|John Avlon|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“We know more about Bedrock than we do about most other vineyards on account of the people who owned it,” Peterson explained.
The Pleasures of America’s Oldest Vines|Jordan Salcito|February 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Constitution of the United States has been the bedrock upon which our country was built over the past 225 years.
The ‘Defining Issue of Our Time’ Is Obama’s Constitutional Excesses|Ron Christie|January 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The rubble and bedrock bottoms found in most streams of the Flint Hills have been described.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas|Artie L. Metcalf
In many places the streams of the Big Caney system flow over resistant limestone members, which form a bedrock bottom.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas|Artie L. Metcalf
One long pool 500 feet by 50 feet with a variety of depths and bottom conditions ranging from mud to bedrock.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas|Artie L. Metcalf
Firm-fixed it stood upon its bedrock of tradition that in matters of fraud, crime should be punished to the full limit of the law.
Corporal Cameron|Ralph Connor
Deep, unconstricted bedrock channels and basins with weak currents occur in mid-Bay and the west inlet.
Humpback Whales in Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska|United States Department of Commerce, Marine Mammal Commission

British Dictionary definitions for bedrock

bedrock

/ (ˈbɛdˌrɒk) /

noun

the solid unweathered rock that lies beneath the loose surface deposits of soil, alluvium, etc

basic principles or facts (esp in the phrase get down to bedrock)

the lowest point, level, or layer

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

Scientific definitions for bedrock

bedrock

[ bĕd′rŏk′ ]

The solid rock that lies beneath the soil and other loose material on the Earth's surface.

bedrock

Origin of bedrock

Words nearby bedrock

Words related to bedrock

How to use bedrock in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bedrock

Scientific definitions for bedrock