rock

[rok]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rock ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to move or sway to and fro or from side to side.

to be moved or swayed powerfully with excitement, emotion, etc.

Mining. (of sand or gravel) to be washed in a cradle.

to dance to or play rock music.

(of popular music) to have the driving beat characteristic of rock.

Slang. to be very good, impressive, exciting, or effective: This show really rocks.

verb (used with object)

to move or sway to and fro or from side to side, especially gently and soothingly: Oh, look! Her big brother is rocking the baby to sleep.

to lull in security, hope, etc.

to affect deeply; stun; move or sway powerfully, as with emotion: Everyone in the courtroom was rocked by the verdict.

to shake or disturb violently: A thunderous explosion rocked the waterfront.

Slang.

to stir up; animate: We're gonna rock this joint tonight!
to use, wear, or display in a showy, self-confident manner or to great effect: Only you could rock that hat! The game rocks some amazing new features.

Graphic Arts. to roughen the surface of (a copperplate) with a rocker preparatory to scraping a mezzotint.

Mining. cradle(def 22).

noun

a rocking movement: the gentle rock of the boat.

rock-'n'-roll(def 1).

adjective

rock-'n'-roll(def 2).

Idioms

rock the boat, Informal. to disrupt the smooth functioning or routine of something: Don't rock the boat by demanding special treatment from management.

Origin of rock

before 1100; Middle English rocken, Old English roccian; cognate with Middle Dutch rocken; akin to German rücken; Old Norse rykkja to jerk

Related formsrock·a·ble, adjectiverock·ing·ly, adverbun·rocked, adjective

Synonyms for rock

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rock ON THESAURUS.COM

1. roll, shake.

Synonym study

1. See swing¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rocking

shake, convulse, shock, jolt, swing, sway, billow, quiver, toss, move, agitate, jiggle, quake, pitch, heave, jounce, wobble, undulate, lurch, vibrate

Examples from the Web for rocking

Contemporary Examples of rocking

The horseman, aka Abraham, is actually passably cute, with a rocking bod and apparently steady source of income.
Naked Ben Franklin Christens the Campy Return of ‘Sleepy Hollow’
Amy Zimmerman
September 23, 2014
Now Nicki and her crew are rocking short shorts, kicks, and fanny packs.
Nicki Minaj’s ‘Anaconda’ Is Too Much Booty for One Man to Handle
Amy Zimmerman
August 20, 2014
Now Candlestick was rocking... and now, 15 seconds after it started, it was over.
San Fran Kisses Its 70,000-Person Toilet Goodbye
Jon Rochmis
August 15, 2014
When impatient or tired, as he often is in his wheelchair, he stims: tapping his head, biting his arm, rocking.
Disney World Means Everything to a Special Needs Mom
Elizabeth Picciuto
July 17, 2014
Rocking what appear to be Beats by Dre earbuds—think he's listening to Kanye's "New Workout Plan?"
The Newest Workout Craze, Obamacise
The Daily Beast Video
June 4, 2014

Historical Examples of rocking

You'll find him rocking the cradle of Tippoo Wellington, my youngest son!
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
And Margaret would sit in the rocking while he cut the leaves and found the place.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
To-night—to-night, he is rocking just the same, in silence, in loneliness.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
If she wasn't feeding him, she was changing him; if she wasn't bathing him she was rocking him to sleep.
Dust
Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
"Don't you say it, if you do think it," said her aunt, sinking into a chair and rocking vigorously.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for rocking

rock

noun

geology any aggregate of minerals that makes up part of the earth's crust. It may be unconsolidated, such as a sand, clay, or mud, or consolidated, such as granite, limestone, or coalSee also igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic

any hard mass of consolidated mineral matter, such as a boulder

mainly US, Canadian and Australian a stone

a person or thing suggesting a rock, esp in being dependable, unchanging, or providing firm foundation

British a hard sweet, typically a long brightly-coloured peppermint-flavoured stick, sold esp in holiday resorts

slang a jewel, esp a diamond

short for rock salmon

(plural) slang the testicles

slang another name for crack (def. 29)

between a rock and a hard place having to choose between two equally unpleasant alternatives

on the rocks

in a state of ruin or destitution
(of drinks, esp whisky) served with ice

Word Origin for rock

C14: from Old French roche, of unknown origin

rock

verb

to move or cause to move from side to side or backwards and forwards

to reel or sway or cause (someone) to reel or sway, as with a violent shock or emotion

(tr) to shake or move (something) violently

(intr) to dance in the rock-and-roll style

mining to wash (ore) or (of ore) to be washed in a cradle

(tr) to roughen (a copper plate) with a rocker before engraving a mezzotint

(tr) slang, mainly US to impress by wearing (an item of clothing) or playing (a musical instrument)She can still rock a miniskirt; He rocks a guitar like nobody’s business

rock the boat informal to create a disturbance in the existing situation

noun

a rocking motion

short for rock and roll

Also called: rock music any of various styles of pop music having a heavy beat, derived from rock and roll

Word Origin for rock

Old English roccian; related to Middle Dutch, Old High German rocken, German rücken

Rock

noun the Rock

an informal name for Gibraltar

a Canadian informal name for Newfoundland

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rocking

adj.

"moving back and forth or to and fro," late 14c., present participle adjective from rock (v.1). Of music, from 1949 (see rock (v.2)). Rocking-horse is first recorded 1724; rocking-chair is from 1766.

rock

n.1

"stone, mass of mineral matter," c.1300, from Old English rocc (e.g. stanrocc "stone rock or obelisk") and directly from Old North French roque, which is cognate with Medieval Latin rocca (8c.), from Vulgar Latin *rocca, of uncertain origin, according to Klein sometimes said to be from Celtic (cf. Breton roch).

In Middle English it seems to have been used principally for rock formations as opposed to individual stones. Meaning "precious stone, especially a diamond," is 1908, U.S. slang. Meaning "crystallized cocaine" is attested from 1973, in West Coast U.S. slang. Figurative use for "sure foundation" (especially with reference to Christ) is from 1520s; but also from 1520s as "source of danger or destruction," in reference to shipwrecks (e.g. on the rocks). Also used attributively in names of animals that frequent rocky habitats, e.g. rock lobster (1843). Between a rock and a hard place first attested 1921:

to be between a rock and a hard place, vb. ph. To be bankrupt. Common in Arizona in recent panics; sporadic in California. ["Dialect Notes," vol. V, part iv, 1921]

Rock-ribbed is from 1776, originally of land; figurative sense of "resolute" first recorded 1887. Rock-happy (1945) was U.S. Pacific Theater armed forces slang for "mentally unhinged after too much time on one island." The rock-scissors-paper game is attested by that name from 1976; from 1968 as paper-stone-scissors. A 1967 source says it is based on Japanese Jan Ken Pon (or Janken for short), which is said to mean the same thing more or less.

rock

v.1

"to sway," late Old English roccian "move a child gently to and fro," related to Old Norse rykkja "to pull, tear, move," Swedish rycka "to pull, pluck," Middle Dutch rucken, Old High German rucchan, German rücken "to move jerkily."

Meaning "cause to sway back and forth" is from late 13c. Intransitive sense from late 14c. For popular music senses, see rock (v.2). Related: Rocked; rocking. To rock the boat in the figurative sense "stir up trouble" is from 1914. Rock-a-bye first recorded 1805 in nursery rhyme.

rock

v.2

"to dance to popular music with a strong beat," 1948 (first attested in song title "We're gonna rock"), from rock (v.1), in earlier blues slang sense of "to cause to move with musical rhythm" (1922); often used at first with sexual overtones (cf. 1922 song title "My Man Rocks Me (with One Steady Roll)"). Sense developed early 1950s to "play or dance to rock and roll music." Related: Rocked; rocking. Rocksteady, Jamaican pop music style (precursor of reggae), is attested from 1969.

rock

n.2

"action of rocking; a movement to and fro," 1823, from rock (v.1). As short for rock and roll, by 1957; but sense of "musical rhythm characterized by a strong beat" is from 1946, in blues slang. Rock star attested by 1966.

rocking in Medicine

Rock

[rŏk]John 1890-1984

American gynecologist and obstetrician who helped develop the first effective oral contraceptive in 1954.

rocking in Science

rock

[rŏk]

A relatively hard, naturally occurring mineral material. Rock can consist of a single mineral or of several minerals that are either tightly compacted or held together by a cementlike mineral matrix. The three main types of rock are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.

A piece of such material; a stone.

Idioms and Phrases with rocking

rock

In addition to the idioms beginning with rock

rock bottom
rocks in one's head, have
rock the boat

also see:

between a rock and a hard place
on the rocks
steady as a rock