Meaning of Roughneck | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A labourer on an oil rig or in the oilpatch, either skilled or semiskilled.
   US, colloquial
2. A dirty or low-paid worker, a labourer; an ironworker in an ironworks or a steelworker in a steelworks.
   US, colloquial, dated
3. Someone with rough manners; a rowdy or uncouth person.
   US, colloquial

Equivalents

Examples

“This first ship had a small geophysical-type drilling rig mounted over the side of the ship with a steel grid runround for the roughnecks, who stood in knee-deep water while making connections or pulling the drill string.”

“As for the minerals, there has been a good deal of drilling along the big river; trucks and roughnecks no longer garner any notice.”

“LaTisha has long wanted to show Carole sheʼs not the roughneck she used to be, the roughneck who wasnʼt good enough to be her friend.”

CEFR level