outcrop

American  

[aut-krop, aut-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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

Taiwanese soldiers manning Dadan Island, a rocky outcrop mere kilometres from China's coast, begin vanishing mysteriously.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2025

Out in the distance, the outcrop point of an island was visible.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

The coral was especially abundant on rocky outcrops where brittle stars covered nearly every available surface.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Japanese defense planners are also looking east, to the country’s Pacific side, where a jumble of tiny Japanese islands and outcrops lie more or less undefended.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

A quick stroll upstream, a group of DJs unaffiliated with the family-friendly festival hosted a day party aimed at Gen Z and millennial attendees, perched on one of the channel’s outcrops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 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

Heat shimmered in waves off the stony outcrops of low hills.

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

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

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

Where rock outcropped and in the sands of bright rapid streams we looked for signs of that gold, so stressed as though it were the only salvation!

From 1492 by Mary Johnston

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 H. B. Marriott (Henry Brereton Marriott) Watson

As the going became stiffer, the rock outcropped and the dust settled.

From Partners of Chance by Henry Herbert Knibbs

The traditional three-pointed-star hood ornament is reduced to a mere outcropping in a sea of monograms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 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

Captured at night, the picture showed the animal climbing on a rocky outcropping.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 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

It had landed nose-first full bore against the only rock outcropping within a hundred yards.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• offshoot

---