roughneck

rough·neck | \ ˈrəf-ˌnek

How to pronounce roughneck (audio)

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Definition of roughneck

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a rough or uncouth person

b : rowdy, tough

2 : a worker of an oil-well-drilling crew other than the driller

roughneck

Definition of roughneck (Entry 2 of 2)

: having the characteristics of or suitable for a roughneck

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Examples of roughneck in a Sentence

Noun a town overrun by roughnecks a group of roughnecks like to hang out at the roadhouse and harass people Adjective their roughneck antics were amusing only if you were as drunk as they were

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Perry is songwriter, singer and acoustic guitar player for Michael Perry and the Long Beds, an Americana roughneck folk band. — Jennifer Rude Klett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Here's what LeRoy Butler, Toya Washington and other Wisconsinites listen to while traveling," 3 Jan. 2020 Booms are great for those riding them, like roughnecks and tech workers. — Kate Galbraith, SFChronicle.com, "How Silicon Valley resembles the Texas oil patch," 7 Aug. 2019 As the roughneck in love with Harry's frisky daughter, Ben Affleck flexes resolute muscle with his heady performance. — Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Armageddon': THR's 1998 Review," 1 July 2019 Like many cities at this time, Baltimore had its share of roughnecks, pick pockets, petty thieves, charlatans and card sharks. — John Wilmerding, WSJ, "A Winning Group of Cheaters," 28 Sep. 2018 Ninth-century Britain is a battleground of invading roughneck Vikings and the devoutly Christian Anglo-Saxons trying to hold them off. — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, "The Last Kingdom," 21 Nov. 2018 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. — Scott Garner, latimes.com, "Neighborhood Spotlight: Signal Hill keeps progress in view without blocking out its oil town past," 22 June 2018 There are fewer roughnecks, as my old landlord had warned, to trash the place. — Longreads, "Life on the Oil Frontier," 23 Apr. 2018 Later, Dollens worked as a roughneck in the oil fields. — Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, "The Teachers’ Strike and the Democratic Revival in Oklahoma," 4 June 2017 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Overwatch’s latest short focused on McCree, the game’s popular, roughneck cowboy character. — Julia Alexander, The Verge, "Blizzard’s stunning cinematics stole the show at BlizzCon 2018," 2 Nov. 2018

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.

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Last Updated

10 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Roughneck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roughneck. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020.

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