Bedrock Meaning
/ˈbɛd.ɹɒk/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe solid rock found at some depth below the ground surface.
nounA basis or foundation.
Sentence Examples
Without bedrock, Manhattan's skyscrapers would be unstable.
Education is the bedrock of civilization.
The house was built on a solid bedrock foundation.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The foundation of the building must rest on stable ____ to prevent sinking.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Hard work and honesty are the ____ of a successful career in life city.
Word Origin & History
From bed (“a layer on top of which something else rests.”) + rock.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The denudation of the land was upon a grand scale. All superficial accumulations were swept away, and the bedrock was exposed."
— 1880, Mark Twain [pseudonym] (Samuel L[anghorne] Clemens), chapter XL, in A Tramp Abroad; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company; London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 466:
"Listen! It's big. Only eight to twenty feet to bedrock. There won't be a claim that don't run to half a million."
— 1912 October, Jack London, “The Stampede to Squaw Creek”, in Smoke Bellew, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co, →OCLC:
"Now, although like most young people, Godfrey was indolent and evasive of difficulties, fearful of facing troubles also, he had a bedrock of character."
— 1918, H[enry] Rider Haggard, chapter VIII, in Love Eternal:
"Many of the bedrock assumptions of American culture — about work, progress, fairness and optimism — are being shaken as successive generations worry about the prospect of declining living standards."
— 2012 October 23, David Leonhardt, “Standard of Living Is in the Shadows as Election Issue”, in New York Times, retrieved 24 Oct 2012:
"The research on the Like button was an example of how Facebook has questioned the bedrock features of social networking."
— 2021 October 25, Mike Isaac, “Facebook Wrestles With the Features It Used to Define Social Networking”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The foundation of the building must rest on stable ____ to prevent sinking.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Hard work and honesty are the ____ of a successful career in life city.