bedrock
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Solid unweathered rock lying beneath surface deposits of soil.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
behdrahkSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbɛdɹɑk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Solid unweathered rock lying beneath surface deposits of soil
(countable, uncountable, geology, mining, engineering, construction) The solid rock found at some depth below the ground surface.
figurative
A basis or foundation.
verb
transitivefigurative
To establish on a solid foundation.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Solid unweathered rock lying beneath surface deposits of soil
Used this way, bedrock is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It criticises, but without shouting.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Critical but measured
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.