outcrop

American  

[out-krop, out-krop] / ˈaʊtˌkrɒp, ˌaʊtˈkrɒp /

noun

1. Geology.

   1. a cropping out, as of a stratum or vein at the surface of the earth.

   2. the exposed portion of such a stratum or vein.

2. something that emerges suddenly or violently in the manner of an outcrop; outbreak.

   an outcrop of student demonstrations.

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verb (used without object)

outcrops, present (3rd person singular) outcropped, past participle, past outcropping present participle

1. to crop out, as strata.

outcrop British  

noun

1. part of a rock formation or mineral vein that appears at the surface of the earth

2. an emergence; appearance

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verb

1. (of rock strata, mineral veins, etc) to protrude through the surface of the earth

2. another word for crop out

outcrop Scientific  

/ out′krŏp′ /

1. An area of visible bedrock that is not covered with soil.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• outcropping
  present
• outcropped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• outcrop
  simple
• outcrops
  simple
• have outcropped
  perfect
• has outcropped
  perfect
• am outcropping
  progressive
• are outcropping
  progressive
• is outcropping
  progressive
• have been outcropping
  perfect progressive
• has been outcropping
  perfect progressive

Past

• outcropped
  simple
• had outcropped
  perfect
• was outcropping
  progressive
• were outcropping
  progressive
• had been outcropping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will outcrop
  simple
• will have outcropped
  perfect
• will be outcropping
  progressive
• will have been outcropping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of outcrop

First recorded in 1760–70; noun use of verb phrase crop out

Explanation

An outcrop is an area of land where the underlying rocks are exposed. You can see many rocky outcrops throughout Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The term outcrop and the alternative outcropping come from the "head or sprout" meaning of crop, from the idea of seeing the "head" of the rock below. Most of the earth's land surface is covered with soil and plants, but in areas where erosion has worn these away, you can see outcrops of the bedrock beneath. These outcrops can be low, flat sheets of rock, or taller rocky expanses along the edges of mountain ridges.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

outcrop outcrops outcropped outcropping

A passenger from the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship is in quarantine on tiny Pitcairn Island, a volcanic outcrop in the South Pacific famously settled by mutineers from the HMS Bounty.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

During a visit in early 2025, they explored a small outcrop of rock formed in the early Cretaceous Period.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2026

Literally the answer must be no: Any stories they tell are scientific interpretations of minerals, fossils, isotopes and other features, whether from a geology laboratory or rock outcrop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

An accompanying conservation plan would convey the 30-acre rocky outcrop that hosts the Quercus palmeri , or Palmer’s oak, to a Native tribe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2024

The Mongol gunner’s battery became more precise, hammering pieces of the rocky outcrop to dust.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Rattlesnakes like to hide in complex rocky outcrops, tall grass and squirrel burrows.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026

A particular pressure point is a cluster of uninhabited outcrops Japan calls Senkaku and China calls Diaoyu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

As in their previous investigations, the researchers examined Ediacaran age rocks collected from drill cores and outcrops in Oman, western India, and Siberia.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026

This is the latest in a string of encounters between the two countries' militaries in the region, where China's vast claims over islands and outcrops overlap with those of its neighbours.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025

Where the high road twisted between two rocky outcrops, they came to the first strong point.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

The Nanushuk Formation is an outcropped layer of sedimentary rock 800 to 5,000 feet thick across the central and western North Slope.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024

To the right and half-way down was a ten-foot ledge, and below that outcropped a steep bank of earth.

From The Ranch at the Wolverine by Bower, B. M.

Forced to become an underwriter at Lloyd's he had regained prosperity before his artistic talent had outcropped.

From To Let by Galsworthy, John

Here and there the rough rock outcropped and was broken, no doubt, by the winds of that tempestuous sea or by the frosts.

From Hurricane Island by Watson, H. B. Marriott (Henry Brereton Marriott)

Several new varieties of thorn outcropped in Elvira’s daily walk.

From Ainslee's, Vol. 15, No. 6, July 1905 by Various

Eberle’s roughly 4.7-acre property is located above a rock outcropping in the Boise Foothills.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

Let’s say you’re out on some rugged outcropping and you need to jump on your jackhammer for a few minutes.

From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2024

On May 7, Patrick Robinson took a boat out to Año Nuevo Island to survey the sea lions that come to birth on this rocky outcropping north of Monterey Bay.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2024

It is a six-acre, dome-shaped outcropping that is tricky to reach and even trickier to explore.

From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2023

I manage to take cover under a stone outcropping just as the vomiting begins, and I lose my meager supper and whatever water has remained in my stomach.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• offshoot