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• roller coaster
  roller coaster

  noun

  a small gravity railroad, especially in an amusement park, having a train with open cars that moves along a high, sharply winding trestle built with steep inclines that produce sudden, speedy plunges for thrill-seeking passengers.
• roller-coaster
  roller-coaster

  verb (used without object)

  to go up and down like a roller coaster; rise and fall.

roller coaster

¹ American  

noun

1. a small gravity railroad, especially in an amusement park, having a train with open cars that moves along a high, sharply winding trestle built with steep inclines that produce sudden, speedy plunges for thrill-seeking passengers.

2. a car or train of cars for such a railroad.

3. any phenomenon, period, or experience of persistent or violent ups and downs, as one fluctuating between prosperity and recession or elation and despair.

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roller-coaster ² American  

[roh-ler-koh-ster, roh-li-] / ˈroʊ lərˌkoʊ stər, ˈroʊ lɪ- /

verb (used without object)

1. to go up and down like a roller coaster; rise and fall.

   a narrow road roller-coastering around the mountain; a light boat roller-coastering over the waves.

2. to experience a period of prosperity, happiness, security, or the like, followed by a contrasting period of economic depression, despair, or the like.

   The economy was roller-coastering throughout most of the decade.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a roller coaster.

2. resembling the progress of a ride on a roller coaster in sudden extreme changeableness.

roller coaster British  

noun

1. another term for big dipper

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Etymology

Origin of roller coaster¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of roller-coaster²

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

In recent years, the IRS has been on a roller coaster.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026

Banksy’s market has been on a roller coaster in recent years, pushed up in 2021-22 by a wave of cryptocurrency investors who have now largely bowed out of art buying.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

Equities were on an oil-slicked roller coaster today.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

For Catriona, the daily roller coaster of coping with the death of her husband has been worsened by the legal limbo she now finds herself in.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

A bead roller coaster on the carpeted floor.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day