roughneck
/ˈɹʌfˌnɛk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.84 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A labourer on an oil rig or in the oilpatch, either skilled or semiskilled.
American usage; Colloquial
noun
A dirty or low-paid worker, a labourer; an ironworker in an ironworks or a steelworker in a steelworks.
American usage; Colloquial; Dated
Example Sentences
- "This first ship had a small geophysical-type drilling rig mounted over the side of the ship with a steel grid runround for the roughnecks, who stood in knee-deep water while making connections or pulling the drill string."
- "As for the minerals, there has been a good deal of drilling along the big river; trucks and roughnecks no longer garner any notice."
- "LaTisha has long wanted to show Carole sheʼs not the roughneck she used to be, the roughneck who wasnʼt good enough to be her friend."
- "There was a time not long ago when this region appeared as some enduring mystification, its citizenry best known for roughnecking on the North Slope […]"
Etymology
Usage
- American usage
- Colloquial
- Dated