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

Keep scrolling for more

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

The bedrock of any democracy is the ability of the citizenry to freely elect its leaders and representatives. — WSJ, "The Villain in the Russian Collusion Is Vladimir Putin," 31 Mar. 2019 This draft helped form the bedrock of a would-be Super Bowl championship roster. — Conor Orr, SI.com, "True NFL Draft Grades: 2015 Draft, Three Years Later," 29 May 2018 The resulting high-resolution data shows the shape of the ice sheet’s surface, some of its internal layering, and even the bedrock below. — Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, "Huge, previously unknown impact crater found beneath Greenland’s ice," 18 Nov. 2018 These radar images are even capable of seeing through the ice to get a clear model of the glacier down to the bedrock. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "NASA Found a Giant Underground Cavern in Antarctica Almost the Size of Manhattan," 31 Jan. 2019 The Earp homestead is built on a bedrock of ammonite, which acts as a powerful revenant repellant. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Wynonna Earp’s wild season 3 finale takes the series to a whole new level," 2 Oct. 2018 The state plans to remove the structures down to the bedrock, to allow the river to return to its original natural level, said Cullen. — Janice Steinhagen, Courant Community, "Plan To Remove Jewett City Dams Meets With Misgivings," 12 June 2018 The magnetometer and gravimeter go where radar and laser can’t penetrate, beneath the ocean and down to the bedrock. — TIME.com, "The Great Crack-Up," 19 Jan. 2018 The idea of invaders from elsewhere, whether human, animal or vegetal, taps into one of the bedrocks of human psychology. — Amy Crawford, Smithsonian, "Why We Should Rethink How We Talk About “Alien” Species," 9 Jan. 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.