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

Keith worked as a roughneck in the oil fields of Oklahoma as a young man, then played semi-pro football before launching his career as a singer.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 6, 2024

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

From Washington Post • Mar. 18, 2022

Boogaard’s death came less than a year after that of Bob Probert, a beloved roughneck of the Detroit Red Wings.

From New York Times • May 7, 2021

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