rocky
1 Americanadjective
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inclined or likely to rock; tottering; shaky; unsteady.
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difficult or uncertain; full of hazards or obstacles.
a business with a rocky future.
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physically unsteady or weak, as from sickness.
adjective
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consisting of or abounding in rocks
a rocky shore
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hard or unyielding
rocky determination
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hard like rock
rocky muscles
adjective
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weak, shaky, or unstable
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informal (of a person) dizzy; sickly; nauseated
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rocky1
First recorded in 1400–50; rock 1 + -y 1 ( def. )
Origin of rocky2
Explanation
Anything rocky is covered with rocks, like a rocky beach or hillside. You can also use rocky for something that moves in a bumpy or uneven manner, like a rocky ride in a Jeep. There's a figurative sense of rocky that means "difficult, rough, or up-and-down" like your rocky relationship with your sister or a struggling business's rocky future. This meaning comes from a combination of the "uneven and covered with rocks" definition and the verb rock, or "sway back and forth." The Rocky Mountains, which aren't actually all that rocky, were named for the local Native American people, called "the stone Sioux" by their Cree neighbors.
Vocabulary lists containing rocky
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead, it was likely a differentiated body with an iron core surrounded by rocky material, similar to a small protoplanet or a differentiated asteroid.
From Science Daily • Jun. 22, 2026
The U.S. dollar was higher as Middle East negotiations continued, following a rocky start.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
Treinen has a 3.52 ERA after bouncing back from a rocky 2025.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2026
After three straight years of mammoth gains, 2026 has been a rocky one for Palantir amid broad fears that artificial intelligence will disrupt some software offerings.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
At once, hundreds of lanterns light up along brick paths, revealing dozens and dozens of stone buildings that dot the rocky landscape that stretches as far and wide as a small town.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
