Meaning & use
a boulder
Last updated
Meanings
phrasecountable
A very large rock, especially one that is rounded or worn smooth and often sits on its own.
Grammar: The phrase is just the article a plus the countable noun boulder; use boulders for more than one and the boulder when you mean a specific one.
Patterns
- a boulder on something
- a boulder in something
- a huge/heavy boulder
A boulder had rolled down the hillside and blocked the road.
We sat on a boulder near the river and ate our lunch.
The climbers had to move a boulder before they could get through the gap.
phrasecountable
A large rounded mass of rock used as a feature in gardens or landscaping.
Grammar: Same countable pattern; in this sense it often appears with words like decorative, garden, or landscape.
Patterns
- a decorative boulder
- a garden boulder
They placed a boulder at the center of the flower bed.
A row of boulders marks the edge of the garden path.
Word forms
| plural | boulders |
|---|
Common combinations
- a huge boulder
- A huge boulder stood at the entrance to the cave.
- a boulder blocks something
- A boulder blocks the trail after heavy rain.
- roll a boulder
- The children tried to roll a boulder into the pond.
- climb over a boulder
- We had to climb over a boulder to reach the beach.
- a boulder field
- The hikers crossed a boulder field near the summit.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rock
- Rock is the general word for any solid mineral material or a piece of it; a boulder is specifically a very large, often rounded one.
- stone
- A stone is usually much smaller and is the everyday word for a little piece of rock; use boulder only for something big and heavy.
- outcrop
- An outcrop is rock sticking out of the ground and still attached to it, while a boulder is a separate, detached mass.
Word family
- boulder noun
- The base noun meaning a very large rock.
- bouldering noun
- The sport of climbing small rock formations without ropes.
- bouldery adjective
- Full of or covered with large rocks.
Commonly confused: a boulder or boulder? a boulder or bowlder?
a boulder vs boulder
Do not confuse boulder (a large rock) with the similar-sounding word bolder, which means braver or more daring.
a boulder vs bowlder
Bowlder is an old, rare spelling of boulder; modern writing uses boulder.
Practice
Which sentence uses "a boulder" correctly?
Choose one answer.
A boulder is a very large rock, so it can roll down a hill. Option 1 is wrong because something you can put in your pocket is far too small to be a boulder; options 2 and 3 use the wrong kind of material or meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a boulder”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.