rock-ribbed

or rock-rib

[ rok-ribd ]

adjective

1. having ribs or ridges of rock:

   the rock-ribbed coast of Maine.

2. unyielding; confirmed and uncompromising:

   a rock-ribbed conservative.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rock-ribbed¹

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

After all, Kansas is as rock-ribbed a Republican state as they come.

From The Daily Beast

I am shocked at how many New Yorkers I had thought to be rock-ribbed Democrats are attending Romney fundraisers.

From The Daily Beast

Republicans, particularly rock-ribbed Reaganites, have compromised themselves into a corner.

From The Daily Beast

There was the cove, sweeping in to the left, along the bluff opposite, which was high and rock-ribbed.

From Project Gutenberg

High above him towered a rock-ribbed peak, so tall that even in summer its upper reaches were snowbound.

From Project Gutenberg

Vast chasms rent the sides of rock-ribbed mountains, and the place looked desolate and barren to a degree.

From Project Gutenberg

His path through life is about three feet wide and bordered with rock-ribbed conventionality.

From Project Gutenberg

A huge rock-ribbed canyon, at the bottom of which rolls the Oregon, separates the two.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• craggy
• jagged
• rough