boom-and-bust

[boom-uhn-buhst]

adjective

1. characteristic of a period of economic prosperity followed by a depression.

Word History and Origins

Origin of boom-and-bust¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Within 150 years, both counties had heaved through boom-and-bust cycles of ranching, crops, land, oil and aerospace.

From Los Angeles Times

This profusion has made the convenience store business one of the most fast-paced and competitive in the country — one that moves in lockstep with boom-and-bust social media attention spans.

From Los Angeles Times

That evangelical hunger for adoption fueled baby-selling, baby-stealing, and created, Joyce wrote, “a boom-and-bust market for children that leaps from country to country.”

From Slate

Yet in time, the cattle ranchers fell victim to the emergent boom-and-bust pattern of the Southern California economy.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s no doubt he would be happy his 21-year-old self hadn’t been tasked with “investing” for his old age, since the boom-and-bust cycles he experienced would have likely forced him to start over more than once.

From Salon