Word.ws English Dictionary

alternative rock

alternative rock noun: a genre of rock music that is normally published on independent labels, comprising of many different subgenres, mostly distinguished by the prevalence of thick and distorted guitar sound.

Noun

alternative rock (uncountable)

  1. A genre of rock music that is normally published on independent labels, comprising of many different subgenres, mostly distinguished by the prevalence of thick and distorted guitar sound.
    • It seems as if every passing year sees the mainstream embrace a longtime cult-favorite alternative rock band.1995 June 3, David Sprague, “Buffalo Tom Reaches Crossroads: EastWest Trio At Make-Or-Break Point”, in Billboard, volume 107, number 22, page 9
    Synonyms:
    alternarock

Synonyms of alternative rock

Questions about alternative rock

What does alternative rock mean?
Alternative rock means a genre of rock music that is normally published on independent labels, comprising of many different subgenres, mostly distinguished by the prevalence of thick and distorted guitar sound.
What part of speech is alternative rock?
Alternative rock is a noun.

Words near alternative rock in the dictionary

  1. alternative press
  2. alternative presses
  3. alternative provision
  4. alternative right
  5. alternative RNA splicing
  6. alternative rock
  7. alternative school
  8. alternative service
  9. alternative timeline
  10. alternative timelines
  11. alternative tourism

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: alternative rock (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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