Rocky Meaning
/ˈɹɒki/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjAbounding in, or full of, rocks; consisting of rocks.
adjLike a rock; rigid, solid.
Sentence Examples
Red Mulligan has announced that he'll fight Rocky Luciano next month.
They called the dog Rocky.
The surrounding countryside is windswept and rocky.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The path was ____ and full of stones, making it hard to walk.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The path became increasingly ____ as they climbed higher into the mountains.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English rokki, rokky (“rocky”), from rok, rokke (“rock; a rock or stone; large rock by a coast or in the sea; rocky outcrop on a mountain, cliff; castle, citadel, stronghold”) [and other forms] + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Rok, rokke are derived from: * Old English *rocc (“rock”); and * Anglo-Norman roc, roce, roque, and Old French roce, roke, roque, variants of roche (“rock”); both from Medieval Latin roca, rocca; further etymology uncertain, possibly of Celtic origin. The English word is analysable as rock + -y (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘having the quality of’).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The pihoihoi live in the island's interior, and the torea on its rocky shore."
— 2003, Margaret Rose Orbell, Carolyn Lagahetau, Birds of Aotearoa: a natural and cultural history:
"When faced with a rockier or muddier section, look ahead for the easiest way across. This might involve hopping from one rock to another, or looking for flat sections or patches of vegetation that might be grippier."
— 2021, Claire Maxted, “Quick Start”, in The Ultimate Trail Running Handbook: Get Fit, Confident and Skilled Up to Go from 5K to 50K, London: Bloomsbury Sport, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 25:
"Marsh went on as his prisoner drank. "Because you're caught in the middle of my alternate plan, Ram-Jam, which ram-jams your ass between the rockiest rock and the hardest hard place you ever imagined."
— 1988, Lloyd Pye Lloyd Pye, Mismatch, →ISBN, page 134:
""Come, George, fork out. I'm sorry if you're rocky too but it's an absolute that it's no good going back without it."
"'Rocky,' my God!" said George, echoing her shallow laugh. "Well—but how much do you need to square it?""
— 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
"‘I didn′t know your son′s name was Rocky,’ I quietly said as we started walking again.
‘It's really Richard. When he was a kid we called him Ricky, which somehow turned into Rocky. Some people call him Rocco. He gets called a lot of things.’"
— 1995, Patricia Cornwell, From Potter′s Field, Berkeley Books, published 2005, →ISBN, page 82:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The path was ____ and full of stones, making it hard to walk.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The path became increasingly ____ as they climbed higher into the mountains.