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.

---

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

It appeared to have been fed by a stream from a outcrop uphill, and archaeologists believe it may have been a water cistern to store fresh water.

From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2026

Twenty minutes after starting out, I finally haul myself onto the outcrop on the other side, completely spent, so wasted I can barely raise my arms.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

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

Using this information, the AI identified important surface features such as bedrock, outcrops, boulder fields, and sand ripples.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 31, 2026

Nationalist sentiment is also growing in the Philippines, as its dispute with China over reefs and outcrops in the South China Sea continue to fester.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2024

Dense forest and rocky outcrops forced the robot to zig and zag and backtrack, but after an hour of steady hiking, she arrived at the craggy mountain peak.

From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown

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

It had manifested itself where a stratum of clean white sand, underlaid with clay, outcropped at the foot of a high bank.

From Flowing Gold by Beach, Rex Ellingwood

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

From Partners of Chance by Knibbs, Henry Herbert

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 Johnston, Mary

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

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

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

They emerge from within a rocky outcropping in an otherwise grassy field and hold up their hands, as if in benediction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024

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

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

One by one, the boys jumped off the granite outcropping and fell perfectly into waves that had just covered the rocks.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

• offshoot