alternative rock

noun

: alternative music that blends elements of conventional rock with influences from other musical styles (such as punk rock, hard rock, hip-hop, or folk)

Examples of alternative rock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Jed Gould was an influential Los Angeles disc jockey, known as Jed the Fish, who used his off-kilter sensibility and deep musical knowledge to shine a light on artists like the Cure at the groundbreaking New Wave and alternative rock station KROQ-FM in the 1980s and ’90s. Zachary Small, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025 As the festival returns year after year, and commercial alternative rock sounds ever closer to an echo of actual alternatives, audiences start to mock anything genuinely different. Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025 The band leads Billboard’s ranking of the most successful songs on U.S. radio stations that focus on alternative music — a format often referred to more casually as alternative rock. Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025 The chain, made by Jacob & Co., is 14k white gold, rose gold, and has a diamond pendant and matching chain commissioned by Pharrell in 2005 to celebrate the forming of his alternative rock band N.E.R.D with his close friends Shay Haley and Chad Hugo. Angel Diaz, Billboard, 11 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for alternative rock

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of alternative rock was in 1975

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Cite this Entry

“Alternative rock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alternative%20rock. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

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