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.

---

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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of roller coaster¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of roller-coaster²

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Richter’s market has been on a roller coaster since, cooling off after that 2015 record but then rallying in 2021 when 156 of his artworks sold at auction for $231.4 million combined, according to ARTDAI.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

"My life is a broken roller coaster, but maybe I'm the only one to blame," they sing on the melancholy Merry Go Round.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

‘It’s been a roller coaster ride, for sure,’ he says.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

Despite the underlying momentum, sharp swings in trade policy over the course of the year sent the economic data on a roller coaster ride.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Even though my emotions were on a bit of a roller coaster, that didn’t mean I wasn’t intensely focused on my training.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles