roughneck
Americannoun
-
a rough, coarse person; a tough.
-
any laborer working on an oil-drilling rig.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a rough or violent person; thug
-
a worker in an oil-drilling operation
Etymology
Origin of roughneck
Explanation
A roughneck is a troublemaker who gets in a lot of fights and doesn’t have good manners. Roughnecks are also men who work at dangerous, grueling hard-labor jobs. Maybe that’s why they’re so mad. Roughnecks weren’t always brutes — the term comes from Texas and used to just refer to a “rugged individual.” Then it was a word for someone who worked on an oil rig. But now a roughneck is someone, usually a big man, who’s tough, crude, and ready to fight. Roughnecks are the opposite of mild-mannered people. Roughnecks are uneducated and foul-mouthed. They’re the kind of people your parents warn you about.
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.
In “Crazy About a Mercury,” a man says of his roughneck wife, “I thought she was slapping herself in the face in the bar where we met, but it was how she eats peanuts.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
A brash roughneck with a golden heart, Bill inspires Trina’s puppy-like devotion.
From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2024
Cruise often appeared on “Twin Peaks,” singing in its biker bar, the Roadhouse, her soft and gentle presence providing a compelling contrast to the roughneck setting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2022
In “Stillwater,” Matt Damon plays Bill Baker, an Oklahoma roughneck who works on oil rigs by day and prays before his fast-food dinner at night.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 28, 2021
George W. Bush, born in Connecticut to a life of unexampled privilege, cultivated in his dress and mannerisms the ethos of a Texan roughneck rather than the Yalie he is.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
