craggy
Americanadjective
-
having many crags
-
(of the face) rugged; rocklike
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of craggy
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at crag 1, -y 1
Explanation
Something is craggy when it's uneven, rough, and jagged, like the craggy cliffs along a rocky beach. The adjective craggy is most often used to describe a landscape or natural feature like a hill or outcrop, and occasionally a scarred or pitted face, like your uncle's craggy cheeks. The word comes from crag, "rugged cliff or rock." Most crags are found in northern Scotland and England, and the roots of crag go back to a Celtic source.
Vocabulary lists containing craggy
Everything Sad Is Untrue
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I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011
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Paradise on Fire
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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.
"It's set in this dark, craggy, bleak landscape, and we had the permission to be really electronic and avant-garde. That was really nice, to go somewhere people aren't expecting us to go."
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
The brown butter streusel forms a craggy, golden crown—nutty, crisp, just salted enough to keep things interesting.
From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026
That distinct fat melts slowly in the oven, creating a loose, craggy structure that sizzles into a proper crust on the outside while staying plush within.
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026
In the craggy Sierra Nevada mountains, late last year, a male lion hunted down several bighorn.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
Five minutes later we were coasting up to a small dock on an island that was almost completely taken up by a large craggy mountain.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
