SKIP TO CONTENT

roughneck

/ˈrʌfˌnɛk/
IPA guide

Other forms: roughnecks

A roughneck is a troublemaker who gets in a lot of fights and doesn’t have good manners. Roughnecks are also men who work at dangerous, grueling hard-labor jobs. Maybe that’s why they’re so mad.

Roughnecks weren’t always brutes — the term comes from Texas and used to just refer to a “rugged individual.” Then it was a word for someone who worked on an oil rig. But now a roughneck is someone, usually a big man, who’s tough, crude, and ready to fight. Roughnecks are the opposite of mild-mannered people. Roughnecks are uneducated and foul-mouthed. They’re the kind of people your parents warn you about.

Definitions of roughneck
  1. noun
    a cruel and brutal fellow
    see moresee less
    types:
    bullyboy
    a swaggering tough; usually one acting as an agent of a political faction
    muscle, muscleman
    a bully employed as a thug or bodyguard
    skinhead
    a young person who belongs to a British or American group that shave their heads and gather at rock concerts or engage in white supremacist demonstrations
    plug-ugly, tough guy
    someone who bullies weaker people
    Ted, Teddy boy
    a tough youth of 1950's and 1960's wearing Edwardian style clothes
    type of:
    aggressor, assailant, assaulter, attacker
    someone who attacks
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘roughneck'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of gold-punch.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family