| English Dictionary |
ROCKY (rockier, rockiest)
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
, rockiest Dictionary entry overview: What does rocky mean?
• ROCKY (adjective)
The adjective ROCKY has 4 senses:
1. abounding in rocks or stones
2. causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements
3. liable to rock
4. full of hardship or trials
Familiarity information: ROCKY used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: rockiest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Abounding in rocks or stones
Synonyms:
bouldered; bouldery; rocky; stony
Context example:
bouldery beaches
Similar:
rough; unsmooth (having or caused by an irregular surface)
Derivation:
rock (a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter)
rockiness (the quality of abounding in rocks and stones)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements
Synonyms:
bumpy; jolting; jolty; jumpy; rocky; rough
Context example:
a rough ride
Derivation:
rock (pitching dangerously to one side)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Liable to rock
Context example:
on high rocky heels
Similar:
unstable (lacking stability or fixity or firmness)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Full of hardship or trials
Synonyms:
rocky; rough
Context example:
they were having a rough time
Similar:
difficult; hard (not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)
Context examples
Sorting out what happens on the Moon could also help researchers understand the sources of water and its long-term storage on other rocky bodies throughout the solar system.
(On Second Thought, the Moon's Water May Be Widespread and Immobile, NASA)
Previous research, however, suggests that a planet the size of Kepler-186f is likely to be rocky.
(Kepler Telescope Discovers First Earth-Size Planet in 'Habitable Zone', NASA)
The viewing offers a glimpse into the violent process of making rocky planets like ours.
(Spitzer Telescope Witnesses Asteroid Smashup, NASA)
The density of the planet is also similar to Earth, suggesting that it, too, is rocky.
(Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to have Atmosphere, NASA)
Among the confirmed is a planetary system comprising four promising planets that could be rocky.
(Kepler Confirms 100+ Exoplanets During Its K2 Mission, NASA)
The planet’s size and composition are unknown, but a rocky world with this mass would range from about one to two times Earth’s size.
(Confirmation of Toasty TESS Planet Leads to Surprising Find of Promising World, NASA)
The innermost planet, TOI 270 b, is likely a rocky world about 25% larger than Earth.
(NASA’s TESS Mission Scores ‘Hat Trick’ With 3 New Worlds, NASA)
It grows in shady forests as well as on open rocky or sandy shores.
(Morinda citrifolia, NCI Thesaurus)
I stood up and examined the rocky wall behind me.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The ground at the foot of the cliff was rocky and broken so that the going was slow and difficult.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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