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Definition of rock verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

rock

verb
 
 
/rɒk/
 
/rɑːk/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they rock
 
/rɒk/
 
/rɑːk/
he / she / it rocks
 
/rɒks/
 
/rɑːks/
past simple rocked
 
/rɒkt/
 
/rɑːkt/
past participle rocked
 
/rɒkt/
 
/rɑːkt/
-ing form rocking
 
/ˈrɒkɪŋ/
 
/ˈrɑːkɪŋ/
Idioms Phrasal Verbs
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    move gently

  1.  
    [intransitive, transitive] to move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side; to make somebody/something move in this way
    • (+ adv./prep.) The boat rocked from side to side in the waves.
    • She was rocking backwards and forwards in her seat.
    • rock somebody/something (+ adv./prep.) He rocked the baby gently in his arms.
    Extra Examples
    • The boat rocked slightly.
    • The raft was rocked by a huge wave.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • violently
    • gently
    • slightly
    • …
    See full entry
    2.

    shock

  2.  
    [transitive, often passive] rock somebody/something (rather informal) to shock somebody/something very much or make them afraid
    • The country was rocked by a series of political scandals.
    • The news rocked the world.
    3.

    shake

  3. [intransitive, transitive] to shake or to make something shake violently
    • The house rocked when the bomb exploded.
    • rock something The town was rocked by an earthquake.
    • (figurative) The scandal rocked the government (= made the situation difficult for it).
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • violently
    • gently
    • slightly
    • …
    See full entry
    4.

    dance

  4. [intransitive] (old-fashioned) to dance to rock music

    5. be good

  5. something rocks
     [intransitive] (slang) used to say that something is very good
    • Her new movie rocks!
    6.

    fashion

  6. [transitive] rock something (informal) to wear something or have a style of clothing, hair, etc. that makes you look attractive or confident
    • How to rock the retro look.
    • She rocked a red leather skirt at the award ceremony.
    7. Word Originverb late Old English roccian, probably from a Germanic base meaning ‘remove, move’; related to Dutch rukken ‘jerk, tug’ and German rücken ‘move’.
Idioms
rock the boat
  1. (informal) to do something that upsets a situation and causes problems
    • She was told to keep her mouth shut and not rock the boat.
rock/shake the foundations of something | rock/shake something to its foundations
  1. to cause people to question their basic beliefs about something
    • an event that rocked the foundations of British politics
    • The scandal rocked the legal establishment to its foundations.
shake/rock the foundations of something | shake/rock something to its foundations
  1. to cause people to question their basic beliefs about something
    • This issue has shaken the foundations of French politics.
    • an event which rocked the foundations of British politics
    • The scandal rocked the legal establishment to its foundations.
See rock in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: rock

Nearby words

hat-trick
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Sports
C2
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