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punk rocker

punk rocker

7 4.2
A young person who plays or likes loud, fast guitar music and dresses in leather with spiked hair
  • noun
  • /pʌŋk ˈrɑːkər/
translation icon : punk
  • Republicans and young punk rockers were often super liberal Democrats.

Gigi Allen was this extreme punk rocker.

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Examples

  • Grant was a punk rocker in Penelope Spheris movies and stuff and in a band with Flea and I, you know, and these were like mentors to me.

  • At the concert, a group of punk rockers danced wildly to the energetic music.

  • Now, Mark is not a punk rocker.

  • - You want to be a punk rocker?

  • A punk rocker should never scare you.

  • Sheena is a punk rocker

  • Even punk rockers eventually want to be good dads.

    Blog text (18)
  • Cindy, a cute, mini-skirted brunette, and Ben, a frizzy-haired, tattooed, pierced punk rocker, are sitting with him.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • It's funny to see the face of some young punk rocker posing with their attitude when I tell them that not too long ago I had the same hot pink mohawk, danced in mosh pits, and questioned authority.

    Blog text (1)
  • The news spreads quickly about the double killing as the crowd splits into its various tribes: punk rockers, jocks, potheads, cheerleaders, and nerds.

    Fiction book (2000)

Synonyms

punk
vspunk rocker
94 6.6

A style of loud, fast rock music or a person who likes that music

refers to an individual young member rather than the style itself
punker
vspunk rocker
2 7.5

A person who listens to or plays loud fast guitar music and dresses in a bold style

is specifically a teenager or young adult who belongs to the same subculture
punks
vspunk rocker
1 7.3

Young people who listen to loud, fast rock music and wear unusual clothes and hairstyles

focuses on young people who perform or enthusiastically take part in the music

How Rebellious

punk rocker
7 4.2
punker
2 7.5

Surface Forms

punk rocker singular
punk rockers plural

Morphology

punk + rocker

The meaning ('a performer or enthusiast of punk rock') is directly and compositionally derived from 'punk' (the genre or member of that scene) + 'rocker' (a rock performer/fan), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the compound. This is a regular English noun compound with clear cross‑linguistic equivalents, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The term punk rocker comes from the music word punk, a loud, fast and rough style of rock, and rocker, a person who plays or likes rock music. Imagine young people with spiked hair and leather jackets playing angry, noisy guitars in tiny clubs. This picture explains why punk rocker means 'a young person who performs or likes punk music and belongs to the punk scene'.