Word.ws English Dictionary

on the rocks

on the rocks prepositional phrase: poured over ice, usually in reference to alcoholic drinks.

on the rocks: poured over ice, usually in reference to alcoholic drinks
Image: Geoff Peters from Vancouver, BC, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Prepositional phrase

  1. Poured over ice, usually in reference to alcoholic drinks.
    • I'll have a whisky on the rocks.
  2. (figuratively) In a bad state; experiencing difficulties or at risk of failing.
    • I knew my business was on the rocks, so I started considering going into voluntary bankruptcy.
    • Joe and Tammy's relationship is on the rocks again.

on the rocks meaning in Malayalam and Kannada

on the rocks in Malayalam

ഐസിനു മേൽ ഒഴിച്ചത്, പൊതുവേ മദ്യക്കുട്ടുകളുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട്, മോശം സ്ഥിതിയിൽ

on the rocks in Kannada

ಸಂಕಷ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ, ಕಷ್ಟದ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ

Origin of on the rocks

From the allusion of a ship running aground against rocks and breaking apart. The poured over ice sense is due to ice's resemblance to rocks.

Words formed from on the rocks

Questions about on the rocks

What does on the rocks mean?
On the rocks means poured over ice, usually in reference to alcoholic drinks.
What is on the rocks in Malayalam?
On the rocks in Malayalam is ഐസിനു മേൽ ഒഴിച്ചത്, പൊതുവേ മദ്യക്കുട്ടുകളുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട്, മോശം സ്ഥിതിയിൽ. See On the rocks meaning in Malayalam.
What part of speech is on the rocks?
On the rocks is a prepositional phrase.

Words near on the rocks in the dictionary

  1. on the right track
  2. on the rise
  3. on the rivet
  4. on the road
  5. on the rob
  6. on the rocks
  7. on the ropes
  8. on the run
  9. on the safe side
  10. on the same page
  11. on the same wavelength

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on the rocks (page history and authors); on the rocks (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); on the rocks (Kannada Wiktionary) (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-on the rocks.ogg.

Cite this entry: “on the rocks.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/on_the_rocks. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.