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

Debra Crawford was a tough, outspoken woman charged with the task of raising a roughneck and two older girls.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2023

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

A roughneck in coveralls stepped out of the crowd and faced the house.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez