bedrock

noun

bed·rock | \ ˈbed-ˈräk

, -ˌräk\

Definition of bedrock

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the solid rock underlying unconsolidated surface materials (such as soil)

2a : lowest point

b : basis

bedrock

adjective

bed·rock | \ ˈbed-ˌräk

Definition of bedrock (Entry 2 of 2)

: solidly fundamental, basic, or reliable traditional bedrock values a bedrock constituency

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about bedrock

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Examples of bedrock in a Sentence

Noun

They dug down for 10 feet before they hit bedrock. His religious beliefs are the bedrock on which his life is based.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

In Thwaites’ case, that radar uncovered a gigantic cavern between the glacier itself and the bedrock below it. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "NASA Found a Giant Underground Cavern in Antarctica Almost the Size of Manhattan," 31 Jan. 2019 The shaft is comprised of burial chambers carved into the bedrock lining the sides of two hallways. — Fox News, "Archaeologists in Egypt discover ancient mummification workshop," 2 Oct. 2018 Trump has especially ridiculed due process of law, the bedrock against government's arbitrary denial of a person's life, liberty or property. — Joan Biskupic, CNN, "Trump's sustained attacks on American rights," 26 May 2018 Each year, about 80 more square miles of ice is detaching from the bedrock. — Chelsea Harvey, Scientific American, "Antarctic Glaciers Lost Stunning Amount of Ground in Recent Years," 4 Apr. 2018 There is also the potential for asbestos to be released from the bedrock of older homes, Gantt says. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "The Dangerous Health Risks That Could Follow the California Wildfires," 16 Nov. 2018 To Kim, denuclearization could well encompass the U.S. backtracking on that bedrock promise to its allies in Asia. 6. — Bloomberg.com, "Your Questions About Trump and Kim Jong Un’s Meeting, Answered," 12 Mar. 2018 The bedrock of Albanian society is besa, a code of conduct that calls for trust, responsibility, and generous hospitality. — Sarah Souli, Condé Nast Traveler, "Kosovo Is an All-Night Party—And Shows No Signs of Slowing Down," 26 Oct. 2018 On the other hand, the bedrock under the sea is only around 200 million years old at most, and in some places even younger. — Meg Neal, Popular Mechanics, "We’ve Been Wrong Before: The Expanding Earth Theory," 3 Aug. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

In fact, Profs. Fama and French found that the same goes for an even more bedrock belief of stock-market investors: the notion that equities will outperform riskless T-bills for those who hold them long enough. — Mark Hulbert, WSJ, "Your Fund Performance Is Even More About Luck Than You Thought," 4 Nov. 2018 The President has broad pardon power in the Constitution, but the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel determined in 1974 that a self-pardon would run afoul of bedrock legal principle. — Tessa Berenson, Time, "Donald Trump’s Campaign to Discredit the Russia Investigation May Be Working. It’s Also Damaging American Democracy," 7 June 2018 The Beneficial renovation is both a shrine to one of democracy’s bedrock values, trial by jury — and to Kline’s career. — Inga Saffron, Philly.com, "How a Philadelphia lawyer turned a historic bank into a shrine to democracy (and his legal career)," 3 June 2018 One of President Trump’s most bedrock character traits is his refusal to truly reckon with any piece of information that reflects poorly on him. — Benjamin Hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s Reality Distortion Field Could be a Huge Asset for Democrats This Fall," 28 Apr. 2018 Ryan is willfully enabling Devin Nunes' and President Trump's blatant attempts to obstruct justice and undermine two bedrock foundations of American democracy -the FBI and Department of Justice. — Jeff Darcy, cleveland.com, "Nunes Memo is a not-so-super bowl of partisan botulism: Darcy cartoon," 4 Feb. 2018 On the most bedrock level, Ammons was a nature poet. — Dwight Garner, New York Times, "Adding Up a Prolific Poet’s Charming Weather Reports," 11 Dec. 2017 The case sparked ferocious debate over his actions and the controversial prisoner exchange that led to his release in 2014, challenging the military's bedrock principle of never leaving a soldier behind. — Alex Horton, Alaska Dispatch News, "Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl avoids prison time for desertion during deployment in Afghanistan," 3 Nov. 2017 Bergdahl's case sparked ferocious debate over his actions and the controversial prisoner exchange that led to his release in 2014, challenging the military's bedrock principle of never leaving a soldier behind. — The Washington Post, cleveland.com, "Bowe Bergdahl, former hostage who pleaded guilty to desertion, avoids prison," 3 Nov. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bedrock.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.