roughneck

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In “Crazy About a Mercury,” a man says of his roughneck wife, “I thought she was slapping herself in the face in the bar where we met, but it was how she eats peanuts.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

They will continue getting pushed around and will not be getting through the roughneck, larger teams in their division when it matters down the stretch, and you can forget about any lengthy playoff stays.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2023

Syms grew up in Altadena, a quiet town abutting the mountains east of Los Angeles known as a retreat for roughneck millionaires and an enclave for the Black middle class.

From New York Times • Sep. 2, 2022

“What probably appealed to Alaskans as much as anything was his roughneck character,” Ornstein added in an interview.

From Washington Post • Mar. 18, 2022

The people around us were hard-working, boisterous, a little proud of their nickname, yo-go-re, which meant literally uncouth one, or roughneck, or dead-end kid.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston