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

A brash roughneck with a golden heart, Bill inspires Trina’s puppy-like devotion.

From New York Times • Apr. 16, 2024

In “Stillwater,” Matt Damon plays Bill Baker, an Oklahoma roughneck who works on oil rigs by day and prays before his fast-food dinner at night.

From Washington Post • Jul. 28, 2021

Damon, a gruff, working-class roughneck, sticks around to seek justice for his daughter and find a mystery man who may have been the real killer.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 13, 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