rock-'n'-roll

or rock-and-roll, rock 'n' roll

[ rok-uhn-rohl ]

noun

1. a style of popular music that derives in part from blues and folk music and is marked by a heavily accented beat and a simple, repetitive phrase structure.

adjective

1. of or relating to this music.

verb (used without object)

1. to dance to or play rock-'n'-roll.

rock 'n' roll

1. Popular music combining elements of blues (or rhythm and blues), gospel music , and country and western music , and known for its strong beat and urgent lyrics. Well-known early, pioneering rock 'n' roll artists or groups include Chuck Berry , Buddy Holly, the Supremes, the Beatles , the Rolling Stones, and Elvis Presley .

Other Words From

• rock-'n'-roller noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rock-'n'-roll¹

1950–55; contraction of phrase rock and roll; rock ²

Example Sentences

Artists like the Doors, Cream and the Jefferson Airplane had come on the scene celebrating sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.

From Los Angeles Times

“Brighter Days” finds the artist fusing rock ’n’ roll, country and bluegrass touchstones into a clarity of vision that he’s honed since rising from the Los Angeles cowpunk scene in the 1980s.

From Los Angeles Times

So was grunge rocker Kurt Cobain when he died of suicide in 1994 and rock ‘n’ roll queen Janis Joplin when she succumbed to a heroin overdose in 1970.

From Los Angeles Times

One advantage to forgoing a showy rock ’n’ roll persona is that you never get too old to pull it off.

From Los Angeles Times

During all this, the band was able to record two pivotal studio albums: “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty,” lively, folk-inflected rock ’n’ roll records that contained many of the band’s enduring songs, including “Uncle John’s Band,” “Casey Jones,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Sugar Magnolia” and Lesh and Hunter’s “Box of Rain.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• popular music