out·crop
ˈau̇t-ˌkräp 
1
: a coming out of bedrock or of an unconsolidated deposit to the surface of the ground
2
: the part of a rock formation that appears at the surface of the ground
out·crop
ˈau̇t-ˌkräp
ˌau̇t-ˈkräp
outcropped; outcropping; outcrops
1
: to project from the surrounding soil
ledges outcropping from the eroded slope
2
: to come to the surface : appear
Examples of outcrop in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 May 2025
Going forward, the distillery will be known as Hawk’s Rock Distillery, a nod to the nearby Ox Mountains and the dramatic outcrop that inspired W.B. Yeats’ 1917 play At the Hawk’s Well.
—Emily Price, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Sacramento Bee, 2 July 2024
The granite outcropping that so enchanted Brown and Weisgard is called Pole Island.
—Anna Holmes, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for outcrop
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Noun
Too small for there ever to be an airport, this 40-square-mile outcrop of vertiginous cliffs surrounded by churning ocean is only reachable via a berth on one of the South African fishing vessels that come to collect the crayfish.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 May 2025
Going forward, the distillery will be known as Hawk’s Rock Distillery, a nod to the nearby Ox Mountains and the dramatic outcrop that inspired W.B. Yeats’ 1917 play At the Hawk’s Well.
—Emily Price, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
The permit area contains two outcropping porphyry targets (Ricardo Herrera and Sortilegio) and one zone with signatures of both porphyry-epithermal and skarn mineralization (Vista Alegre).
—Sacramento Bee, 2 July 2024
The granite outcropping that so enchanted Brown and Weisgard is called Pole Island.
—Anna Holmes, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for outcrop
Cite this Entry
“Outcrop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outcrop. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
outcrop
1 of 2 noun
out·crop
ˈau̇t-ˌkräp
1
: a coming out of bedrock to the surface of the ground
2
: the part of a rock formation that appears at the surface of the ground
outcrop
2 of 2 verb
out·crop
ˈau̇t-ˌkräp
(ˈ)au̇t-ˈkräp
outcropped; outcropping
: to come to the surface : appear
granite outcropping through softer rocks
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