alt-rock

noun

ˈȯlt-ˌräk 

: alternative rock

… interesting music covering everything from electronica to alt-rock … and acoustic folk …

—Tim Hughes

"I grew up listening to whatever my family listened to. Kudos to them for molding my style," he [Ivan Cornejo, musical artist] says. "My brother would listen to alt-rock like Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, and my parents listened to Café Tacvba. Very on the alternative side."

—Griselda Flores

alt-rocker

ˈȯlt-ˌrä-kər 

noun

Examples of alt-rock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Morando, the drummer of alt-rock band Liily and formerly of the Regrettes, co-wrote and produced a couple of tracks on 2023’s Endless Summer Vacation. — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026

The alt-rock and folk musical is based on the 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind, which sees teenagers in the late 1800s discovering their sexuality. — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026

The 30-year-old anti-hipster apparently wanted none of that, so went to the beach, chilled and listened to one of her heros, alt-rock legend Liz Phair. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026

Mustard Service’s big break came as an opening act for Hinds, an alt-rock band from Madrid, Spain. — Charles Moss, SPIN, 1 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

by shortening

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for alt-rock

• alcock
• beanstalk
• bedrock
• boardwalk
• catwalk
• cornstalk
• crosswalk
• deadlock
• feedstock
• fetlock
• flintlock
• goshawk