Definition of roughneck
2
: a worker of an oil-well-drilling crew other than the driller
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Examples of roughneck in a Sentence
a town overrun by roughnecks
a group of roughnecks like to hang out at the roadhouse and harass people
Recent Examples of roughneck from the Web
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Three years later, the hill and 2 square miles of the surrounding plains incorporated as the city of Signal Hill, a settlement of roughnecks and wildcatters, an oil boomtown during the time when California produced a quarter of the world’s oil.
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There are fewer roughnecks, as my old landlord had warned, to trash the place.
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Later, Dollens worked as a roughneck in the oil fields.
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Somebody’s oil worker boyfriend might trash the place; indeed, the last round of roughnecks already have.
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Until recently, the energy industry was mostly associated with roughnecks, gushing greasy dirty oil, and centralized electricity distribution systems.
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When the reverend's rebellious daughter sets her sights on Ren, her roughneck boyfriend tries to sabotage Ren's reputation, with many of the locals eager to believe the worst about the new kid.
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Pruett said Elevation Resources recently had a fracking job that was supposed to take seven days but lasted nine because unschooled roughnecks caused some equipment malfunctions.
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Young Texans can no longer get by as oil-field roughnecks and farmhands, many here say, and schools must start to train them for jobs in newer technological industries.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'roughneck.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of roughneck
1834
Definition of roughneck
: having the characteristics of or suitable for a roughneck
Examples of roughneck in a Sentence
their roughneck antics were amusing only if you were as drunk as they were
First Known Use of roughneck
1906
roughneck Synonyms
Synonyms
coarse, common, crass, crude, gross, ill-bred, insensible, low, lowbred, lowbrow, raffish, rough, rough-hewn, rude, rugged, tasteless, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar;
Antonyms
civilized, cultivated, cultured, genteel, polished, refined, smooth, tasteful, ultrarefined, well-bred;
Near Antonyms
aristocratic, courtly, patrician;
elegant, graceful, restrained;
Related Words
boorish, churlish, cloddish, clownish, loutish, ungentlemanly;
clumsy, lubberly, lumpish, oafish;
inconsiderate, indelicate, insensitive, thoughtless;
countrified (also countryfied), provincial, rustic (also rustical), unsophisticated;
ROUGHNECK Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of roughneck for English Language Learners
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: someone who behaves in a rough, rude, or aggressive way
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: someone who works on an oil rig or at an oil well
ROUGHNECK Defined for Kids
Definition of roughneck for Students
: a rough aggressive person
Learn More about roughneck
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See words that rhyme with roughneck Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for roughneck Spanish Central: Translation of roughneck Nglish: Translation of roughneck for Spanish speakers
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