Definition

Noun: - A genre of popular music that originated in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It is characterized by a strong beat, simple chord structures, and often amplified instrumentation, evolving from a combination of African-American musical styles such as rhythm and blues and gospel with country and western.

Usage

• As a subject:
• As an object:
• With modifiers:

Examples

Advanced Usage

• "the spirit of rock'n'roll": Refers to the rebellious, energetic, and liberating attitude associated with the music and its culture.
  • That concert captured the true spirit of rock'n'roll.
• Used attributively (as a noun modifier) to describe things related to the genre.
  • a rock'n'roll legend, a rock'n'roll lifestyle, a rock'n'roll guitar riff.

Variants and Related Words

• Rock and roll: The full, unabbreviated spelling.
• Rock 'n' roll: A common alternative spelling using apostrophes.
• Rock (noun): A broader, generic term for the range of styles that evolved from rock'n'roll (e.g., hard rock, punk rock, alternative rock).
• Rockabilly (noun): An early style of rock'n'roll that blended rhythm and blues with country music.

Synonyms

• Rock music (though this often refers to the wider genre post-1960s)
• Rock and roll

Idioms and Phrases

• "rock and roll" (verb, informal): To begin, to start functioning energetically, or to party.
  • As soon as the band came on stage, the place started to rock and roll.
• "ready to rock and roll": Prepared and eager to begin an activity.
  • We've got all the equipment set up and we're ready to rock and roll.

Noun

1. a genre of popular music originating in the 1950s; a blend of black rhythm-and-blues with white country-and-western
   • rock is a generic term for the range of styles that evolved out of rock'n'roll.