rocking chair

American

noun

a chair mounted on rockers or springs so as to permit a person to rock back and forth while sitting.

rocking chair British

noun

a chair set on curving supports so that the sitter may rock backwards and forwards

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of rocking chair

An Americanism dating back to 1750–60

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A loud knock burst from an empty rocking chair across the room.

From Literature

He was just sitting there in his old rocking chair, with a fly swatter in his hand, looking off across the country.

From Literature

“Kin” deftly alternates points of view between Vernice and Annie, narrating events by way of a vernacular that would be at home on a front porch rocking chair.

From Los Angeles Times

In another, the artist sits in a rocking chair in a home beside a vase of dead flowers — but her body is transparent.

From Los Angeles Times

He especially liked the rocking chair in the living room.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023