Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of cyclical
Explanation
Though day-to-day weather changes are unpredictable, nature’s seasons can always be counted on to move in cyclical or predictable patterns. Cyclical is used to describe things that are regularly patterned or that occur in regular intervals. The root of cyclical is “cycle” which means movement in a circular fashion, or the circular fashion itself. Planets orbit the sun in cyclical patterns, the moon’s phases are cyclical as well. Some stock brokers say that the market is cyclical, but that may be just a way of telling people to keep investing when it's down.
Vocabulary lists containing cyclical
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Earth and the Solar System - Middle School
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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.
Cyclical stocks, on the other hand, are closely tied to the economic cycle.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026
Cyclical companies make up 16% or 17% of the S&P 500.
From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026
Cyclical stocks started outperforming last month after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled openness to more cuts if there are further signs of weakness in the labor market.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026
Cyclical downturns rarely prompt fire sales, so long as lenders are confident the investor can repay their loan and the value of the asset remains above the debt lent against it.
From Reuters • Jul. 30, 2023
Here are some of them: XMODEM/CRC ————— CRC is an abbreviation for Cyclical Redundancy Check.
From The Online World by De Presno, Odd
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
