rocky soil

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   Earth that has many stones in it, so that it drains quickly, is hard to dig and holds little water or nutrients.

   Grammar: No plural and no a: there was rocky soil on the hill.

   Patterns

   • plants that grow in rocky soil
   • rocky soil for something

   Olive trees do well in rocky soil with plenty of sun.

   We struggled to dig fence posts into the rocky soil.

   Rainwater runs through rocky soil too fast for many crops.

2. 2noununcountablefigurative

   A situation in which an idea, plan or person has little chance to develop or succeed.

   Grammar: Used in the phrase fall on rocky soil to describe failure to take root.

   Patterns

   • fall on rocky soil

   His proposal fell on rocky soil with a board that hated change.

   The new policy landed on rocky soil in the small town.

   Good ideas can wither in rocky soil if no one supports them.

Common combinations

thin, rocky soil

The farm had only thin, rocky soil to work with.

grow in rocky soil

Lavender will grow in rocky soil.

dig through rocky soil

We dug through rocky soil to lay the pipe.

poor, rocky soil

Vines often thrive in poor, rocky soil.

fall on rocky soil

Her warnings fell on rocky soil.

Synonyms and how they differ

stony ground

Stony ground is the more traditional, slightly more British phrase, and it is the usual form in the figurative expression.

gravelly soil

Gravelly soil has small pebbles, while rocky soil has larger stones and boulders.

poor soil

Poor soil lacks nutrients for any reason, whereas rocky soil names a specific cause.

Opposites

Word family

rock noun

hard natural material

rocky adjective

covered with or full of rocks

soil noun

the top layer of the ground in which plants grow

Commonly confused: rocky soil or rocky road?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “rocky soil”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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