Meaning & use
rocker
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A chair that sits on two curved bars so that it can swing gently back and forth.
Grammar: Often shorter than rocking chair: a porch rocker.
Patterns
- sit in a rocker
- a rocker on the porch
Grandpa fell asleep in his rocker on the porch.
She bought an old wooden rocker for the nursery.
The creaking rocker was the only sound in the quiet house.
nouncountableinformal
A musician who plays rock music, or a fan of it.
Grammar: Usually used of the musician or fan with a particular style.
Patterns
- a veteran rocker
- a rocker from somewhere
The aging rocker still plays three hundred shows a year.
My sister has been a die-hard rocker since she was twelve.
The festival lineup features several young rockers from Brazil.
nouncountabletechnical
A curved piece of wood or metal on which something, such as a cradle, rocks.
Grammar: A part of a larger object: the rocker of a cradle.
Patterns
- the rocker of something
One of the rockers on the cradle had cracked.
He sanded the curved rockers until they were smooth.
A broken rocker made the toy horse tip sideways.
phraseidiominformalhumorous
In the expression off your rocker, mad or behaving in a very silly way.
Grammar: Fixed phrase, always with off: you must be off your rocker.
Patterns
- be off your rocker
You must be off your rocker if you think I will jump from that bridge.
Grandma says anyone who pays that much for coffee is off their rocker.
He went off his rocker after three sleepless nights.
Word forms
| plural | rockers |
|---|
Common combinations
- old rocker
- An old rocker sat by the fireplace.
- porch rocker
- The porch rocker faced the lake.
- veteran rocker
- The veteran rocker still performs in stadiums.
- off your rocker
- Are you off your rocker?
- glam rocker
- The glam rocker arrived in silver boots.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rocking chair
- Rocking chair is the full and neutral name, while rocker is shorter and more casual.
- rock musician
- Rock musician is neutral and descriptive, whereas rocker sounds more like a personality or style.
- headbanger
- Headbanger is more specific, describing a fan of loud heavy metal, and can sound mocking.
- crazy
- Crazy is the plain adjective, while off your rocker is a playful idiom used mostly for a silly or unwise idea.
Word family
Commonly confused: rocker or rockster? rocker or rocket?
rocker vs rockster
There is no standard word rockster; the music word is rocker or rock star.
rocker vs rocket
A rocket is a flying vehicle or firework; a rocker is a chair or a musician.
Practice
My grandfather spent every evening in his wooden ______ on the porch, swaying gently.
Choose one answer.
A rocker is a chair on curved bars that sways back and forth. The other options are not chairs that rock.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rocker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.