rock hound
A person who collects rocks and minerals from the natural environment as a hobby.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“My brother is a rock hound who loves searching for quartz.”
“Every weekend, the local rock hound heads to the riverbank to search for interesting stones and minerals.”
“An avid rock hound since childhood, he spent his retirement traveling across the country to catalog rare geological specimens found in remote mountain ranges.”
first recorded 20th c. disputed origin
The term entered the lexicon by the 1910s, originally serving as a playful designation for geologists working within the nascent oil industry. It belonged to a specific professional jargon that included labels such as "sand smeller," "oil witch," "wrinkle chaser," and "pebble pup." The name suggested the geologist possessed a canine ability to sniff out items of value buried amongst the stones.
While early instances appear in Citations from the 1910s, the term was perhaps popularised by a story published in Cosmopolitan in 1921 titled The Rockhound. The narrative utility of the word likely assisted its transition from the specialised vocabulary of the oil fields into more general usage.
- 01
hit rock bottom
To reach the lowest possible state in one's life.
- 02
hit the rocks
To reach a low point in one's pursuits.
- 03
hold with the hare and run with the hounds
To oppose an action or behavior and yet engage in the same action or behavior; to be a hypocrite.
- 04
kick rocks
To leave or run away; to skedaddle; to waste one's own time (with some other meaningless task) rather than waste the speaker's time with something equally irritating or pointless. (often used imperatively and dismissively).
- 05
painting rocks
pointless or futile work organised by the government, supposedly to increase employment but in fact merely disguising the unemployment level.
- 06
piffy on a rock bun
A person ignored or sidelined from an activity
- 07
publicity hound
A person who constantly seeks public attention, especially through coverage in the broadcast media or news media.
- 08
rock bottom
The very lowest possible level.
Last updated August 10, 2026