rocker

[ rok-er ]

noun

1. Also called runner. one of the curved pieces on which a cradle or a rocking chair rocks.
2. rocking chair.
3. a performer or fan of rock-'n'-roll. music.
4. a rock-'n'-roll song:

   She sang a ballad and followed that with two of her well-known rockers.

5. any of various devices that operate with a rocking motion.
6. Graphic Arts. a small steel plate with one curved and toothed edge for roughening a copperplate to make a mezzotint.
7. Mining. cradle ( def 13 ).
8. an ice skate that has a curved blade.

rocker

/ ˈrɒkə /

noun

1. any of various devices that transmit or operate with a rocking motion See also rocker arm
2. another word for rocking chair
3. either of two curved supports on the legs of a chair or other article of furniture on which it may rock
4. a steel tool with a curved toothed cage, used to roughen the copper plate in engraving a mezzotint
5. mining another word for cradle
6. 1. an ice skate with a curved blade
   2. the curve itself
7. skating
   1. a figure consisting of three interconnecting circles
   2. a half turn in which the skater turns through 180°, so facing about while continuing to move in the same direction
8. a rock-music performer, fan, or song
9. an adherent of a youth movement rooted in the 1950s, characterized by motorcycle trappings Compare mod 1
10. off one's rocker slang.
    crazy; demented

Word History and Origins

Origin of rocker¹

1400–50; late Middle English: one who rocks a cradle; rock ², -er ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. off one's rocker, Slang. insane; crazy:

   You're off your rocker if you think I'm going to climb that mountain.

More idioms and phrases containing rocker

see off one's head (rocker) .

Example Sentences

Aside from fronting his namesake band Dio from 1982 through 2010, the diminutive singer was known for his piercing vocals and being among the first rockers to flash the famed devil horns hand gesture.

From Los Angeles Times

Forty years and two months ago, Duff McKagan first arrived in Los Angeles as a fresh-faced punk rocker with ambitions of taking over the world.

From Los Angeles Times

Obama was preceded by actor Samuel L Jackson, director Spike Lee, and producer and actor Tyler Perry, as well as Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock and rocker Bruce Springsteen.

From BBC

The "Born in the USA" rocker has ramped up his support for the vice president in recent weeks, sharing his endorsement earlier this month in a video posted to social media.

From Salon

It might be hard to believe that this meticulous woodworker, sculpting delicate art pieces in his home studio, was once a rocker swinging his guitar around on stage in high school.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• artist
• musician
• performer

More About Rocker

What does rocker mean?

A rocker is a type of cradle for babies that’s used to gently rock them from side to side to calm them down or get them to fall asleep. It should not be confused with a bouncer, which is a kind of seat that allows older babies to stand up and bounce up and down.

Rocker can also be used as another name for a rocking chair, or one of the two curved pieces on which it sits that allow it to rock back and forth. Such pieces are also found on other kinds of furniture, such as cradles. They can also be called runners.

Rocker can refer to a rock musician, a fan of rock music, or a rock song that especially rocks (meaning it’s an intense example of the hard-driving beat and other qualities associated with rock music, all turned up to 11). These senses of the word can sound a bit outdated.

Rocker is also used in the phrase off one’s rocker, which means about the same thing as out of one’s mind—delusional or completely irrational.

Example: It’s a miracle how well this rocker works at getting my baby to calm down—thanks, Lemmy!

Where does rocker come from?

The first records of the word rocker come from around the 1400s in reference to someone who rocks a cradle. Today, a lot of baby rockers are electronic and do the rocking automatically.

By the late 1700s, rocker was being used to refer to one of the curved pieces of wood on a cradle, chair, or rocking horse. Rocker came to be used in reference to a rocking chair in the 1800s.

The first records of rocker pertaining to rock music and rock stars come from the 1940s. These senses of the word come from the original name of the genre: rock-’n’-roll. In the late 1950s and the 1960s, the word started to be used to refer to fans of rock music, especially in categories of subculture members divided by fashion and musical taste, including rockers, mods, and punks. Today, a rock musician is much more likely to be called a rock star than a rocker. One exception is the use of the term rocker in the term punk rocker, which can refer to a punk rock musician or fan, as in Sheena is a punk rocker.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for rocker?

• rocking chair
• runner
• rock star

What are some words that share a root or word element with rocker? 

 

• rock
• rock-’n’-roll

What are some words that often get used in discussing rocker?

• baby
• chair
• music
• punk
• mod

How is rocker used in real life?

In the context of music, the term rocker is a bit out of fashion, though it’s still sometimes used in the phrase punk rocker.

Clothes for them, car seat, rocker, baby bottles. I really need to go to the store cause baby clothes on amazon ain’t cheap 😩

— Susy🌸 (@mylifeassusy) May 15, 2020

I'm still working on my Prince room. Need to apply a second coat of purple paint. I found this lovely antique rocker and had it reupholstered in purple. The color is not as dark as it appears in the picture. pic.twitter.com/gLx2NMwXCL

— LA (@Luv2Purple1) August 19, 2019

RIP to a real rocker ❤️ pic.twitter.com/pFcxfj7VwZ

— Best Coast (@BestCoast) December 29, 2015

 

 

Try using rocker!

Is rocker used correctly in the following sentence?

I just refinished my grandmother’s antique rocker.