outcrop

1 of 2

noun

out·crop ˈau̇t-ˌkräp

Synonyms of outcrop next

: a coming out of bedrock or of an unconsolidated deposit to the surface of the ground

: the part of a rock formation that appears at the surface of the ground

outcrop

2 of 2

verb

out·crop ˈau̇t-ˌkräp

ˌau̇t-ˈkräp

outcropped; outcropping; outcrops

intransitive verb

: to project from the surrounding soil

ledges outcropping from the eroded slope

: to come to the surface : appear

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Out of this display, on a sloping outcrop of rock, a tiny hawksbill headed up from the abyss, nibbling at the brilliant coral. —

Hannah Selinger, Travel + Leisure, 20 Feb. 2023 Among other things, the designers looked at the famous glacial grooves carved into a limestone outcrop on Kelleys Island, and the ways in which meltwater ripples over layers of eroded shale in Northeast Ohio’s many creeks. —

Steven Litt, cleveland, 9 Jan. 2022 Almost two miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, on a lonely outcrop of bare rock 100 miles from Costa Rica, researchers on a geological expedition found something odd. —

Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 18 Apr. 2018 The next morning, anglers arrived to fish before the rangers could cordon off the beach and startled Xpl-108, who dragged her meal four kilometers inland to the safety of a rocky outcrop. —

Ryan Truscott, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Mar. 2023 An ~25 foot thick outcrop of the Osceola Mudflow from Mt. Rainier. —

Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 17 May 2022 And all the artifacts were made of black slate from an outcrop less than half a mile from the excavation site. —

Roni Dengler, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2018 The pilot of the second helicopter managed to land safely on a sandy outcrop despite the aircraft suffering significant damage, authorities said. —

Arkansas Online, 7 Jan. 2023 Up on a small outcrop above the main vent of the Pisciarelli fumarole, the observatory has two monitoring systems looking for changes in heat and gas composition emerging from the caldera. —

Russ Juskalian, Discover Magazine, 9 Oct. 2017

Verb

This exclusive, discrete resort (no photos allowed) consists of a series of bungalows set around a private lagoon, whose waters are protected from the waves by a rock outcropping dotted with deluxe beach chairs. —

Shannon Sims, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2020 While the iron boat badly deteriorated badly over the century it's been exposed to the elements, the scow has remained tightly fixed to a rock outcropping since August 1918. —

Jeanne Bonner, CNN, 2 Nov. 2019 Magnetic anomalies abounded in the ancient natural world, where a lightning strike on a rock outcropping was much more likely than today. —

David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 6 Aug. 2019 On the evening of January 28, 1918, fifteen unarmed men and boys were rounded up and roped together by Texas Rangers and local ranchers, then led to a rock outcropping in the desert and shot dead. —

Steve Anderson, The New York Review of Books, 6 June 2019 In Topanga State Park, hike up to Eagle Rock—a massive sandstone outcropping nearly 2,000 feet above sea level—for panoramic views. —

Rico Gagliano, WSJ, 1 Aug. 2018 But here Bidwell starts to feel wilder, as the Maidu and Middle and Upper Trails branch off into the foothills and toward the rock outcropping known as Monkey Face, and other trails dip into the dense riparian growth along Big Chico Creek. —

Peter Fish, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Mar. 2018 Shovels and Rope is a cool rockabilly outcropping of that movement. —

NOLA.com, 18 Jan. 2018 The petroglyphs were rediscovered after an 1881 wildfire devastated much of the region and burned off the vegetation that had covered the sandstone outcropping. —

Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, 8 Sep. 2017 See More

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