rock hound

noun

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

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounrock hound (plural rock hounds)

plural rock hounds

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

Origin

In use by 1910s (see Citations). Originally a playful term for geologists employed in the early days of the oil industry - other similar names included "sand smeller", "oil witch", "wrinkle chaser", "pebble pup". The intended parallel being the likeness of a geologist sniffing out - like a hound - something of value among the rocks. Term popularized perhaps by a 1921 story published in Cosmopolitan titled The Rockhound.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish kivien keräilijä
  • kivien keräilijäperson who collects rocks
Cite this entry
APA

rock hound. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rock%20hound

MLA

“rock hound.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rock%20hound. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rock hound,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rock%20hound.

Source: rock hound on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.