roller-coaster

¹

[roh-ler-koh-ster, roh-li-]

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.

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

²

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.

roller coaster

noun

1. another term for big dipper

Word History and Origins

Origin of roller-coaster¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Origin of roller-coaster²

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

It’s like comparing a roller coaster to an escalator.

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Imagine going up on a roller coaster, but with no seat belt, no car, no track, and no sense of security besides your grip.

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“It’s definitely been a roller coaster year to say the least,” Guevara said.

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"These negotiations, they are like a roller coaster sometimes, you know, they are up, sometimes they are down," summarized Brazil's chief negotiator, Liliam Chagas.

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This year has brought plenty of ups and downs, from the tariff roller coaster to AI upheaval, and even Kentucky Fried toothpaste External link.

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