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

He had previously worked as a rodeo hand, a roughneck in the Oklahoma oil fields and as a semiprofessional football player to support his young family.

From New York Times • Feb. 6, 2024

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

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

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