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

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

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

George W. Bush, born in Connecticut to a life of unexampled privilege, cultivated in his dress and mannerisms the ethos of a Texan roughneck rather than the Yalie he is.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith