hard rock

¹ American  

noun

1. the original form of rock-'n'-roll, basically dependent on a consistently loud and strong beat.

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hard-rock ² American  

[hahrd-rok] / ˈhɑrdˌrɒk /

adjective

1. (loosely) of or relating to igneous or metamorphic rocks, as in mining hard-rock mining and geology hard-rock geology.

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hard rock British  

noun

1. music a rhythmically simple and usually highly amplified style of rock and roll

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Other Word Forms

• hard rocker noun

Etymology

Origin of hard rock¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Origin of hard-rock²

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Most of the fossil remains encased in hard rock, and manually removing it could take years.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

"The estimated yield of the event was a 10 tonne nuclear explosion, or five tonnes conventional equivalent, which assumes the explosion was fully coupled in hard rock below the water table," he said.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Benante compares the band to ’70s female hard rock group the Runaways, hatched and molded by rock Svengali Kim Fowley, which marked the debuts of Joan Jett and Lita Ford.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025

For a time they were based in Ann Arbor, Mich., where their band Leatherwood “connected with the burgeoning Michigan hard rock circuit,” opening for Ted Nugent’s Amboy Dukes, Alice Cooper and others.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

Conduct may be founded on the hard rock or the wet marshes but after a certain point I don't care what it's founded on.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald