fluctuation

[fluhk-choo-ey-shuhn]

noun

1. continual change from one point or condition to another.

2. wavelike motion; undulation.

3. Genetics.,  a body variation due to environmental factors and not inherited.

Other Word Forms

• nonfluctuation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fluctuation¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin fluctuātiōn- (stem of fluctuātiō ) a fluctuation, wavering. See fluctuate, -ion

Example Sentences

“When we look at natural and normal hormone fluctuations, there’s no balance. They are not balanced by definition.”

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Accounting rules require Berkshire to include unrealized gains and losses from its giant investment portfolio when it reports net income, meaning that short-term fluctuations in the stock market can cause big swings in quarterly income.

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Mortgage rate fluctuations could also carry less heft in a housing market restrained by buyer hesitance and uncertainty.

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Some of that is because of small acquisitions and currency fluctuations.

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A soft macroeconomic context and exchange fluctuations are additional challenges for the U.K. drugmaker, Scholar adds.

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Related Words

• variation 

When To Use

What does fluctuation mean?

Fluctuation is continual change.It’s a noun form of the verb fluctuate, meaning to continually change or shift back and forth.Fluctuation is most commonly used in the context of abstract or intangible things that frequently change, such as temperature, the stock market, or someone’s mood.Example: The fluctuation of the volume on my TV is really annoying—it gets louder during commercials and then it gets quiet again when the show comes back on.