# rock hound

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/rock-hound
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A person who collects rocks and minerals from the natural environment as a hobby.

## Examples

- 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.

## 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. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.