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• hard rock
  hard rock

  noun

  the original form of rock-'n'-roll, basically dependent on a consistently loud and strong beat.
• hard-rock
  hard-rock

  adjective

  (loosely) of or relating to igneous or metamorphic rocks, as in mining hard-rock mining and geology hard-rock geology.

hard rock

¹ American  

noun

hard rocks plural

1. the original form of rock-'n'-roll, basically dependent on a consistently loud and strong beat.

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hard-rock ² American  

[hahrd-rok] / ˈhɑrdˌrɒk /

adjective

1. (loosely) of or relating to igneous or metamorphic rocks, as in mining hard-rock mining and geology hard-rock geology.

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hard rock British  

noun

1. music a rhythmically simple and usually highly amplified style of rock and roll

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hard rocker
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hard rocks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hard rock¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Origin of hard-rock²

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hard rock hard-rock

Nazareth were described as being a "stalwart of hard rock in the 70s"

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Even so, they believe S3E could become a viable alternative to evaporation ponds and hard rock mining, which currently dominate global lithium production despite their environmental drawbacks.

From Science Daily ● May 23, 2026

Solovyov, 67, a hard rock fan, still wears his hair long, though it has turned grey.

From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026

Pop culture seemed ready to welcome back a breed of hitmaker thought lost to time — the sleeve-tatted, throat-shredding hard rock star.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

They camped in a dry gully bordered by a tangle of shrubs, and took shifts dozing on the hard rock ground and keeping watch.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Meanwhile, Jason Momoa swaggers into the fray from the cover of an ’80s hard-rock album with Kiss’ makeup, Manowar’s muscles and Meatloaf’s motorcycle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

He thought they were a hard-rock parody of an early-1960s bubblegum band.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

Formed in 1969, the Irish hard-rock band released five unsuccessful albums in a row, starting in 1971.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026

The drummer and lyricist for beloved Canadian hard-rock trio Rush was widely considered one of rock’s most skilled instrumentalists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2025

Mixed in with all the college students and farm boys and out- of-work loggers, there were grizzled hard-rock miners from all over the West.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown