rock

Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale.[…]Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.

2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:

The face of the cliff is solid rock.

(uncountable) The naturally occurring aggregate of solid mineral matter that constitutes a significant part of the earth's crust.

The ship crashed on the rocks.

A mass of stone projecting out of the ground or water.

Some fool has thrown a rock through my window.

(chiefly UK, Ireland) A boulder or large stone; or (US, Canada) a smaller stone; a pebble.

(geology) Any natural material with a distinctive composition of minerals.

Look at the size of that rock on her finger!

I call all the shots, rip all the spots / Rock all the rocks, cop all the drops

1997, “Mo Money Mo Problems”, in Life After Death, performed by The Notorious B.I.G. ft. Ma$e and Diddy:

(slang) A precious stone or gem, especially a diamond.

Pearl Rock near Cape Cod is so named because the morning sun makes it gleam like a pearl.

A large hill or island having no vegetation.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 16:18:

1991, Robert Harling and Andrew Bergman, Soapdish, Paramount Pictures,
Celeste Talbert: She is my rock, my right hand.

(figuratively) Something that is strong, stable, and dependable; a person who provides security or support to another.

I'll have a whisky on the rocks, please.

While we're in Brighton, let's get a stick of rock!

(British, uncountable) A type of confectionery made from sugar in the shape of a stick, traditionally having some text running through its length.

I ain't guilty, ‘cause even though I sell rocks / It feels good puttin' money in your mailbox

1995, “Dear Mama”, in Me Against the World, performed by 2Pac:

When I necked five-quid bottles of vodka, I did not read the label. When I scored rocks and bags off tumbleweed hobos blowing through the no-man's-land of Hackney estates, I conducted no litmus test.

2014, Russell Brand, “Prologue”, in Revolution, →ISBN, page xiii:

(US, slang) A crystallized lump of crack cocaine.

(US, slang) An unintelligent person, especially one who repeats mistakes.

(South Africa, slang, derogatory) An Afrikaner.

(US poker slang) An extremely conservative player who is willing to play only the very strongest hands.

We ordered rock and chips to take away.

Any of several fish:
The huss or rock salmon.

Yo homie, pass the rock!

It [the original Space Jam limped to 88 minutes with detours into Jordan’s swanky mansion and forced its cartoon cavalry to compete for screen time against Wayne Knight and a bunch of basketball players who delivered their lines much less confidently than they put the rock through the net.

2021 July 14, A. A. Dowd, “Space Jam: A New Legacy is one big, witless commercial for Warner Bros. properties”, in The A.V. Club:

Now, you should never make the last out of an inning at third, and when a player does it, everyone knows he pulled a rock.

2014, Joe Morgan, Richard Lally, Baseball For Dummies, page 227:

(rock paper scissors) A closed hand (a handshape resembling a rock), that beats scissors and loses to paper. It beats lizard and loses to Spock in rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock.

(informal, cricket) A cricket ball, especially a new one that has not been softened by use

It was easily possible to double the cost of a CB rig just by adding all of the "rocks" necessary to do the job.

1980, Joseph J. Carr, The Complete Handbook of Radio Receivers, page 199:

(CB radio slang) A crystal used to control the radio frequency.

en-noun

rock (countable and uncountable, plural rocks)

foundation

something strong, stable, and dependable

rockcress

Brassicaceae: Arabis, Arabidopsis, Boechera spp.

ка́мень

драгоце́нный

ка́мінь

дорогоці́нний

From Middle English rocke, rokke (“rock formation”), from Old English *rocc (“rock”), as in Old English stānrocc (“high stone rock, peak, obelisk”), and also later from Anglo-Norman roque, (compare Modern French roc, roche, rocher), from Medieval Latin rocca (attested 767), of uncertain origin, sometimes said to be of Celtic (in particular, perhaps Gaulish) origin (compare Breton roc'h). Related also to Middle Low German rocke (“rock ledge”). One suggestion is that it derives from Vulgar Latin *rupica, from rupes (compare rupico).


rock

Rock the baby to sleep.

The empty swing rocked back and forth in the wind.

To Edward […] he was terrible, nerve-inflaming, poisonously asphyxiating. He sat rocking himself in the late Mr. Churchill's swing chair, smoking and twaddling.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

(transitive and intransitive) To move gently back and forth.

Don't rock the boat.

A rising earthquake rocked the ground.

1700, [John] Dryden, “Theodore and Honoria, from Boccace”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

(transitive) To cause to shake or sway violently.

The boat rocked at anchor.

(intransitive) To sway or tilt violently back and forth.

The ores had been rocked and laid out for inspection.

(transitive and intransitive, of ore etc.) To be washed and panned in a cradle or in a rocker.

Downing Street has been rocked by yet another sex scandal.

She rocked my world.

(transitive) To disturb the emotional equilibrium of; to distress; to greatly impact (most often positively).

The Blues' challenge had been rocking at that point, with Terry's centre-back partner Gary Cahill lost to injury and Barca having just levelled the tie through Busquets's neat, close-range finish from Isaac Cuenca's pull-back.

2012 April 24, Phil Dawkes, “Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:

(intransitive) To do well or to be operating at high efficiency.

That band rocks!

I wanna rock!

Cum on feel the noize, girls, rock your boys.

1973, Noddy Holder, Jim Lea (lyrics and music), “Cum On Feel the Noize”, performed by Slade:

Rock me gently, rock me slowly, take it easy, don't you know, that I have never been loved like this before.

1974, Andy Kim (lyrics and music), “Rock Me Gently”:

Open up your heart / And let the loving start / Oh, woman, take me in your arms / Rock your baby.

1974, Harry Wayne Casey, Richard Finch (lyrics and music), “Rock Your Baby”, performed by George McCrae:

I just wanna rock you, all night long.

1980, Jonah Ellis, Alisa Peoples, Cavin Yarbrough (lyrics and music), “Don't Stop the Music”, in The Two of Us, performed by Yarbrough and Peoples:

(slang, transitive, intransitive, euphemistic) To make love to or have sex (with).

Tends to tap fingers on desk or spin ring on finger, especially when stressed. Sucks thumb in private. Loves to rock.

2019 May 4, C. L. Lynch, “"Autism is a Spectrum" Doesn’t Mean What You Think”, in NeuroClastic:

(intransitive) To sway one's body as a stim.

en-verb

rock (third-person singular simple present rocks, present participle rocking, simple past and past participle rocked)

rocks (present singular third-person)
rocking (participle present)
rocked (participle past)
rocked (past)

the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world

the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world

rozhodit

disturb the mental or emotional equilibrium

From Middle English rokken, from Old English roccian, from Proto-West Germanic *rokkōn, from Proto-Germanic *rukkōną, from Proto-Germanic *rukkōną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ruknéh₂ti, from *h₃rewk-, *h₃runk-.
See also obsolete Dutch rokken, Middle High German rocken (“to drag, jerk”), Modern German rücken (“to move, shift”), Icelandic rukka (“to yank”); also Latin runcāre (“to weed”), Latvian rũķēt (“to toss, dig”).


rock

An act of rocking; a rocking motion; a sway.


rock

(music) A style of music characterized by basic drum-beat, generally 4/4 riffs, based on (usually electric) guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards (often), and vocals.

Shortened from rock and roll. Since the meaning of rock has adapted to mean a simpler, more modern, metal-like genre, rock and roll has generally been left referring to earlier forms such as that originating in the 1950s, notably more swing-oriented style.


rock

Let's rock!

I wanna rock! (Rock!) / I wanna rock! (Rock!) / I want to rock! (Rock!) / I wanna rock! (Rock!)

1984, Dee Snider (lyrics and music), “I Wanna Rock”, in Stay Hungry, performed by Twisted Sister:

(intransitive) To play, perform, or enjoy rock music, especially with a lot of skill or energy.

Chocolate rocks.

My holidays in Ibiza rocked! I can't wait to go back.

(intransitive, slang) To be very favourable or skilful; excel; be fantastic.

Let's rock this joint!

(transitive) To thrill or excite, especially with rock music.

The scene was rocking, all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, The Crypt-Kicker Five.

1962, “Monster Mash”, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Lenny Capizzi (lyrics), performed by Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers:

(intransitive) To have people dancing and enjoying rock music.

I need to rock a piss.

(transitive) To do something with excitement yet skillfully.

I call all the shots, rip all the spots / Rock all the rocks, cop all the drops

1997, “Mo Money Mo Problems”, in Life After Death, performed by The Notorious B.I.G. ft. Ma$e and Diddy:

Take today, where she's rocking that well-known fashion combo – a Tory Burch outfit offset with a whacking great bruise attained by smacking her head on a plane's overhead lockers.

2011 April 29, Tim Jonze, “Nerdy but nice”, in The Guardian:

Rihanna was the pick of the best bunch, rocking a black backless crocodile dress from Tom Ford’s Autumn 2012 collection

2012 May 8, “Rhianna dazzles at the Met Gala”, in The Sun newspaper:

(transitive) To wear (a piece of clothing, outfit etc.) successfully or with style; to carry off (a particular look, style).

rocken (but usually the English term is used)


rock

Sad Clotho held the rocke, the whiles the thread / By grisly Lachesis was spun with pain, / That cruel Atropos eftsoon undid.

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 48:

By order of the General Court in 1642, the "prudentiall" men of each town were instructed "to take care of such [children] as are sett to keep cattle be set to some other employment withal, as spinning upon the rock, knitting, weaving tape, etc., and that boys and girls be not suffered to converse together so as may occasion any wanton, dishonest or immodest behavior.

1899, T Frank Waters, The Development of Our Town Government:

A prepared end of yarn being fixed into the notch, the spinster, by a smart rolling motion of the spindle with the right hand against the right leg, threw it out from her, spinning in the air, while, with the left hand, she drew from the rock an additional supply of fibre which was formed into a uniform and equal strand with the right.

1902, Day Otis Kellogg, Thomas Spencer Baynes, William Robertson Smith, The Encyclopaedia Britannica, page 664:

It is true that in Ireland, even in recent years, the flax, before being placed on the rock or distaff, was tangled into a mass, or, as Cormmelin expresses it, “drawn out in a flat cake.”

1920, John Horner, The Linen Trade of Europe During the Spinning-wheel Period, page 32:

(uncountable) The flax or wool on a distaff.

From Middle English rok, rocke, rokke, perhaps from Middle Dutch rocke (whence Dutch rokken), Middle Low German rocken, or Old Norse rokkr (whence Icelandic / Faroese rokkur, Danish rok, Swedish spinnrock (“spinning wheel”)). Cognate with Old High German rocko (“distaff”).