pendulum

American  

[pen-juh-luhm, pen-duh-] / ˈpɛn dʒə ləm, ˈpɛn də- /

noun

• pendulums
  plural

1. a body so suspended from a fixed point as to move to and fro by the action of gravity and acquired momentum.

2. Horology. a swinging lever, weighted at the lower end, for regulating the speed of a clock mechanism.

3. something that tends to move from one position, condition, etc., to the opposite extreme and then back again.

   In a democratic society, the pendulum of political thought swings left and right.

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pendulum British  

/ ˈpɛndjʊləm /

noun

1. a body mounted so that it can swing freely under the influence of gravity. It is either a bob hung on a light thread ( simple pendulum ) or a more complex structure ( compound pendulum )

2. such a device used to regulate a clockwork mechanism

3. something that changes its position, attitude, etc fairly regularly

   the pendulum of public opinion

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pendulum Scientific  

/ pĕn′jə-ləm /

1. A mass hung from a fixed support so that it is able to swing freely under the influence of gravity. Since the motion of pendulums is regular and periodic, they are often used to regulate the action of various devices, especially clocks.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pendulumlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pendulums
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of pendulum

1650–60; < New Latin, noun use of neuter of Latin pendulus pendulous

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Explanation

A pendulum is something hanging and swinging freely from a fixed point. A grandfather clock might use for timekeeping a pendulum that swings back and forth. Pendulum comes from the Latin word pendulous, meaning "hanging down." If someone hangs a pocket watch in front of you and swings it back and forth, saying, "You're getting very sleepy," they're mimicking the movement of a pendulum. We also use the word pendulum to describe a situation moving between two poles or across a spectrum, like the balance of power in a multiparty political system.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pendulum pendulums

Gosling believes parenting trends often represent a pendulum swing, with one generation trying to correct what it believes the previous one got wrong.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

Yet this week he fretted about the pendulum swinging too far the other way.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

The effect is reminiscent of an observation made by Christiaan Huygens in 1665 involving two pendulum clocks.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

After a few years in which mainstream culture at least made noises about retiring the worst excesses of early-aughts thinspo, the pendulum appears to be swinging back.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026

I stepped out of the house, careful not to disturb my science project—the Foucault pendulum suspended from the porch roof.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

Traditional clocks, from pendulums to atomic oscillators, depend on irreversible processes to track time.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 17, 2025

But pendulums swing and many workers are ready for a change.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 30, 2023

Using tarot, scrying, pendulums, runes and other forms of intuitive counseling, Amanda Yates Garcia, known as the Oracle of L.A., offers clarity through elemental divination sessions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2022

As snowboarders turn themselves into human pendulums in the halfpipe event at the Winter Olympics, they will be flying high and long.

From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2022

The room felt like a museum of random ordinary objects; the walls held glass cases boasting keys, pendulums, coins, oven mitts, ropes, even teakettles, and more.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

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