redneck

American  

[red-nek] / ˈrɛdˌnɛk /

Or red-neck

noun

rednecks plural

1. an uneducated white farm laborer, especially from the South.

2. a bigot or reactionary, especially from the rural working class.

---

adjective

1. Also red-necked narrow, prejudiced, or reactionary.

   a redneck attitude.

   Synonyms:

   intolerant, narrow-minded, biased

   Antonyms:

   impartial, unbiased, tolerant, broad-minded, open-minded, fair-minded

redneck British  

/ ˈrɛdˌnɛk /

noun

1. (in the southwestern US) a poor uneducated White farm worker

2. a person or institution that is extremely reactionary

---

adjective

1. reactionary and bigoted

   redneck laws

redneck Cultural  

1. A slang term, usually for a rural white southerner who is politically conservative, racist, and a religious fundamentalist (see fundamentalism). This term is generally considered offensive. It originated in reference to agricultural workers, alluding to how the back of a person's neck will be burned by the sun if he works long hours in the fields.

---

Sensitive Note

All the senses of this term are used with disparaging intent, implying negative stereotypical traits such as ignorance and narrow-mindedness.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rednecks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of redneck

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30; red ¹ + neck

Compare meaning

How does redneck compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• hillbilly vs. redneck

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

redneck rednecks

"When you're not respected, it's hard to respect the people that don't respect you... I'm the hated redneck, right? That's me. Not that I did anything wrong, I'm just born here."

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

A new vanguard—led by the beer-swilling redneck Stone Cold Steve Austin—would bring the art form into the modern age by embracing bad taste.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

“She calls herself a redneck environmentalist,” Kreider said during a visit at Gilbert’s home.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2025

Harvesting road kill and dumping it in Central Park as a prank, he said, might have been “a little bit of the redneck in me.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2024

He fiddled with the dial a moment, landing on some mariachi music that was as equally redneck and sappy in its own way as were the cowboy songs.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

“People think we’re ass-backward rednecks, but that’s not true,” said Martin, who ordered a salad and kissed her husband before his round of golf.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2024

“They’re just like all of y’all’s grandparents — I mean, to the extent y’all’s grandparents are rednecks from south Georgia,” he said to laughter.

From Seattle Times ● May 23, 2023

But, as local historian Joe Nick Patoski said, one thing united hippies and rednecks, cowboys and stoners, slackers and geeks: music.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 16, 2020

These arresting stories, all set in a working-class town in eastern British Columbia, where D. W. Wilson grew up, concern “the nuances of rural life, the divide between rednecks and bluecollars.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2014

Apparently the Robertson boys are yuppies dressing up as rednecks for profit, and A&E is laughing with them all the way to the bank.

From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2013

Related Words

• hick
• hillbilly